Vale go into this crucial away game at Hawick buoyed by the news that manager Chris Anderson has signed on for a further two years.

This week the gaffer and his backroom team of Keith McLeod, Sean Taylor and Mark Beveridge agreed deals to remain in post until the end of the 2018/19 season.

Their players will have to dig in during this Borders derby to get them their first win since signing the new deals. The Vale’s renaissance was brought to a crashing halt by BSC Glasgow last weekend, having won three and drawn one of the previous four matches.

The 6-2 defeat was a hark back to the disastrous run of results earlier in the season when goals were being shipped, a problem that appeared to have been amended.

In the wake of the BSC thumping, an irate Anderson stressed: “That simply isn’t good enough.

“If any of the players think they can just turn up and play out the season like that they won’t be here next season.

“We have high standards at the Vale and we have been playing well, but that was way below the standard we expect.”

In order to prove that they can meet their gaffer’s expectations and keep their place in his squad the players will have to overcome a side who are also trying to impress.

Hawick are below Vale in the table but have recently employed Kevin Milne as manager. They have shown signs of fight since the appointment with a win over Cumbernauld Colts and also running the league’s top sides, East Kilbride and East Stirlingshire, close.