With the club recently announcing that Vale will be taking on newly promoted SPFL side Livingston and the current SPFL champions Glasgow Celtic as part of their pre season schedule, we felt it was great timing to catch up with the Gaffer Chris Anderson and chat all things pre season.

Ando told us “It’s obviously at a time when there’s a real excitement throughout football. There’s a sense of anticipation and optimism for all clubs during pre season. Concentrating on ourselves however we’ve had a demanding start on the training pitch.”

“I am delighted with our recruitment this summer, for me it’s been the most talented squad I’ve worked with during my 3 years at Victoria Park and expectations within the group are higher than ever.”

Valeofleithen.co.uk asked the manager if he was relishing the task of locking horns with both Livingston and Celtic over the coming weeks.

“These games are naturally seen as special games due to their magnitude. As a club we are extremely grateful for these opportunities. We hope the community come out and get involved too. Every game in pre season is seen as a building block though. It’s important to get the minutes into the legs and it also helps the new players gel with the squad. We are in a very good place.”

The manager will have to wait a little longer than expected before he and his coaching team will be able to assess the boys on their first 90 minutes. Tomorrow nights game vs Peebles Rovers as stated has fell foul to the blistering hot weather which has affected the Whitestone Park turf.