Vale will 'keep fighting' to turn results - Moore

Under-pressure Port Vale manager Darren Moore says they will "keep fighting" to turn their form around following a meeting called by the club's senior players.

Vale are bottom of League One and without a win in the league since September ahead of Saturday's trip to high-flying Lincoln City.

The Valiants' defeat by fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle last weekend saw Moore's side replace the Pilgrims at the foot of the table and crank the pressure up on their attempts to get out of trouble.

Moore, who signed a five-and-a-half-year contract when he became boss in February 2024, said the idea to call a meeting this week was "nothing to do with the staff" but "we all came together as one".

"What I got from it was leadership, accountability, responsibility and togetherness and I was proud of it," Moore told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's the culture we've created.

"We're together and we've spoken about the form and we know it's got to come from the dressing room to turn it around

"We've said we've worked too hard to get to this position for it to go the way it is."

After steering Vale back to League One at the first attempt last season after being unable to keep them up in the third tier when he arrived, Moore has seen his side win only three of their 17 league games this campaign.

Margins have been tight - only two of their nine defeats have been by more than one goal - and Moore says he has seen a "volume and intensity" in training this week that shows the squad's "appetite" for the fight.

"I have every bit of confidence and trust in the boys who have shown a level of performance over 17 games that has warranted more points than they've had," he said.

"You have to turn that frustration into determination. The decisive moments that are coming our way, we need to be more ruthless."

'Sometimes you've got to go through the storm'

Moore is in his fifth management role following spells with West Bromwich Albion, Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday and says his experiences have taught him to stay as "level headed" as possible.

"You have to work hard and trust that you're not in this battle on your own. We're in it together," he said.

"We'll keep fighting, every week, to turn this around.

"When you're winning everything's really great and when you're losing it can be really dour.

"As a manager, you have to look for the next opportunity. To look back is not going to serve a purpose.

"The biggest thing is where we finish at the end of the season and sometimes you've got to go through the storm.

"League One is an excellent league, it asks questions of you week in, week out and it's up to us to come up with the answers."