Chris Anderson and his coaching staff have agreed deals to stay at the Vale for a further two years.

The manager has agreed to stay until the end of the 2018/19 season along with his backroom team of Keith McLeod, Sean Taylor and Mark Beveridge.

In his first season in charge, the team have skirted around the mid-table positions but have shown potential to go higher. They currently sit eleventh and look certain to improve on last season’s finish.

Ando is keen to continue that improvement. He said: “We want to build on the progress that has already been made since Vale became a Lowland League club.

“The committee here have made giant strides off the park and this is something we want to replicate on the pitch.

“To keep improving each season you need a long-term plan and I believe we will continue building and improving with the coaching personnel we have.”

Shrewd dealings in the transfer market both at the start of the season and throughout have helped the team’s cause. A blend of experience at this level and good quality young players was acquired at the start, and the group has been supplemented well. Ryan Currie has been the latest addition to generate excitement.

Ando told us last week that plans for next season are already underfoot with several of the current squad preempting their manager in committing for another year.

“The vast majority of the squad have signed again for next season. We have started our recruitment to add to the squad and our quietly ambitious backroom team are looking for a strong finish from this group to lead into next season”, said Anderson.