Mark Bonner: Cambridge boss says team must try to take relegation fight to final week

Cambridge's win at Port Vale was only their second in the league since the start of 2023

Cambridge United boss Mark Bonner has challenged his side to take their relegation battle to the last week of the season after beating Port Vale.

The 2-0 victory at Vale Park was their first in seven games.

However, they remain next to bottom of League One and five points from safety, with eight matches left to play.

"If it wasn't the perfect performance, we wouldn't have given two hoots - we needed to win," the 37-year-old told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

"We should take some confidence from winning a game that we had to because we're going to have to do that again, of course, between now and the end of the season."

Bonner switched to a four-man defence, instead of using wing-backs, and also had experienced Harrison Dunk back in the side for the first time since Boxing Day.

"We felt if we didn't get two players in wide areas we wouldn't be able to stop deliveries into the box," he explained.

"It was a bit risky, because it's such a big pitch, to not play with five in one of your two deeper lines on the pitch - but we also took the risk that we could work more switches of play, we could get dribblers wide to carry the ball and get us up the pitch.

"If we'd played a back three, we'd have probably spent the game in a back five and been a bit cut off from the front of the team. It allowed us to get a bit more control and have really good counter-attacking options and get pace at the top of the pitch."

On Dunk's return from an ankle problem, Bonner continued: "You know what you get from Dunks and he gave us it in spades. He did very well."

A number of U's players in the squad have been affected by illness, while Sam Smith suffered a broken nose and Liam Bennett a 'fat lip' against Vale.

"That's what winning looks like, so we'll have to do that eight more times," added Bonner, whose side are at home to Fleetwood Town on Friday.

"The challenge is to see if we can take this to the last week, so let's see if we can."