Port Vale interim-manager Andy Crosby says his team’s performance during last night’s 2-1 defeat at Portman Road will give everyone at the club confidence as they continue their fight against relegation in their final three matches of the season.
The Valiants made the Blues work for their seventh successive home win and even went ahead via Mal Benning’s first-half injury time goal.
However, Nathan Broadhead netted twice after the break, the second an 84th-minute penalty, to seal three vital points for the Blues.
Vale remain 18th, six points ahead of Cambridge United in the final relegation spot.
"The task in hand is to make sure we preserve League One status,” Crosby told his club’s official website. "We’ve now got a three-game mini-league, everything we can control individually and collectively, we have to do - our destiny is in our hands.
"The performance tonight will give everybody belief and faith in that this group of players, and this group of staff, are going to do everything they can for the remaining three games in the season to achieve that goal.”
Crosby admitted it had been a difficult day or so with boss Darrell Clarke having been sacked on Monday morning.
"It has been a tough 24 hours for everyone to digest the news. But football moves on and we knew we had a really important game to prepare for, the first game of a four-game mini-season,” he told StokeonTrent Live.
"So we have tried to use the time really wisely and prepare for the game with a plan, to come here and frustrate the opposition for long periods which we did.
"Could we have been better with the ball? Absolutely, in key moments when we could have maybe got into really good transitions when we didn’t.
"I think that maybe told in the second half. But in terms of the effort, the togetherness of the group and the support of each other, all the players travelled down here today, the guys who were impact players and the guys who were injured or suspended, they were all here.
"There was a togetherness before the game and we have to maintain that for the rest of the season.”
He added: "Getting in front just before half-time gave everyone a boost. At half-time, it was calm and was retraining some messages that were important. We knew the second half would be even more challenging.
"But I don’t remember Aidan [Stone] having to make a lot of what you would say proper saves. There was a lot of defending of our box.
"I thought the three centre-backs, the two wing-backs, the two deep midfield players, three attackers, all did a sterling job of defending our box and made it as difficult as we could for them.
"But they have quality players, they are top of the league for a reason. They have a group who can impact the game, and from the bench.
"They were relentless and kept going and they got a decision given to them in terms of the penalty that gets them the winning goal.”