No-one at Port Vale is giving up - Walters

Port Vale midfielder Rhys Walters insisted the squad is still fighting on despite an uphill task to preserve the Valiants' League One status.

Vale secured their best win of the season on Saturday as they beat third-placed Bolton 1-0 at Vale Park to put a dent in the Trotters' promotion hopes.

Yet despite securing just a third home win of the season and their recent exploits in reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals, Vale remain bottom and 11 points from safety - albeit with three games in hand on Exeter in 20th.

"As you could see out there, no-one's giving up, nothing like that," Walters told BBC Radio Stoke. "Everyone is still working their hardest to get a result every week.

"Adversity is going to come at all times in your career but you've just got to be able to stay strong and diligent and just keep going."

Walters said the squad used the 4-0 defeat to Bolton in the reverse fixture back in November - Vale's second-heaviest of the season - as motivation.

"It just shows how far the team has come because if you look at the away fixture it was a really tough game.

"But I think the team used that as motivation and for a bit of fire to take the game to them and show them what we could do."

Jon Brady echoed the fighting spirit sentiments after seeing his side bounce back from a midweek 3-2 defeat at Blackpool - a game in which Vale led twice.

"From what I see no-one could say that [it lacks fight] about this group," he said.

"They are really proud of their performances and they take it to heart when [they lose].

"On Tuesday night everyone was hurting but in football you get the next opportunity, you've got to pick yourself up and go again.

"There's belief that we can win games of football. Let's take it one by one."

Port Vale play one of their games in hand on Tuesday when they head to 17th-placed Doncaster (19:45 GMT).