Port Vale pitch is 'breaking the players' - Brady

Port Vale boss Jon Brady has labelled the Vale Park pitch a "joke" that is "breaking" his players.

The Valiants' ground has had little chance to recover since a waterlogged pitch postponed their FA Cup tie with Bristol City on 13 February.

Since then it has hosted six games, with Saturday's goalless draw with Huddersfield capping a run of five successive home matches in the space of 14 days, including the shock fifth round FA Cup win over Sunderland.

"We played a lot more today on a pitch, which is a joke to try and play on," Brady told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's flaky, it's everywhere, the ball bubbles up, and we moved the ball brilliantly, and people have to take perspective here.

"What we've been dealt with playing on this pitch week in, week out, it's breaking the players - that's a fact.

"And then we're having to find a way with a makeshift team."

Vale, which sits at the bottom of League One, were without four centre-backs among eight players sidelined for the visit of the play-off hunting Terriers, but had more attempts on target than their visitors.

"I said there'd be surprises, and people have probably looked at it [Saturday's team] and gone 'Oh my God' before the start of the game," he said.

"We filled them full of belief, got them organised, and they have to go out and do that. You can see, they're not giving in; they're fighting all the way, and that's got to be commended."

The Valiants made national headlines when they knocked out Premier League Sunderland to reach the quarter-finals.

But they have won just one of their past eight games in the league and are now 11 points adrift of safety after fifth-bottom Wigan's surprise win over Bradford on Saturday.

A big reason for their league struggles has been finding the net.

Vale have scored just 26 goals in 34 matches this season, with Saturday's goalless draw being their 18th blank of the campaign.

"I thought we were much better when Browny [Dajaune Brown] and Andre [Gray] came on, I thought they gave us a real front," said Brady.

"I still want more from Martin [Sherif] but he's been out ill, and Waino's [Ben Waine] running himself into the ground, but I don't have the bodies, and that's just us at the moment."