Port Vale: All change as Valiants ponder shake-up to accommodate Anthony Griffith

PORT Vale could be ready to play the numbers game in a bid to put their promotion push back on track.

The stuttering Valiants, who have lost three of their last four games, are considering a change of formation for tonight's home clash with Bradford City (7.45pm).

They could ditch their usual 4-4-2 set-up in favour of three in midfield in a move designed to accommodate loan signing Anthony Griffith.

The 26-year-old, who will be with the club until the end of the season after completing his return yesterday, looks likely to start against the Bantams.

And he could figure alongside Ryan Burge and Doug Loft in the middle as Vale look to put back-to-back defeats to Exeter and Oxford behind them.

Assistant boss Mark Grew admitted Vale were thinking over a change of style.

"It's in our minds and we're having a look at it," he said.

"We could use three in the middle, but we're not 100 per cent yet because we haven't fully decided who'll be in the team.

"We'll think about it and we'll do what we think is the best thing to get a result.

"We have options through the squad now and there's a lot of strength in depth.

"It's nice to be spoilt for choice and to think we could do this, or we could do that."

Griffith is match fit and raring to go.

He ended a four-year spell at Vale Park when he left to join League One Leyton Orient in the summer.

But Grew believes he's the ideal man to help the Valiants out of a spell of poor form which hit another low in Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Oxford.

"We felt we needed to freshen things up by adding a bit more strength and determination to midfield," he said.

"Griff is a dogged character who can give us an extra something.

"He's a leader, he's a talker, he's aggressive and he's a ball winner.

"He has that will to win and it's great to have him back. He ticks all the boxes."

Grew says Vale are determined to bounce back against Bradford.

"We know the last two games in particular haven't been good enough from our point of view and we always knew there would be a blip," he said.

"But we're not looking for favours from anyone, and we know it's down to us to get ourselves out of it.

"We've got to be positive and look for three points.

"It's not a crisis, we just have players who are not at their best right now.

"If two or three aren't on it, you can maybe get away with it, but when you have six or seven who are not really producing, then you've got a problem.

"We haven't fired on all cylinders and we have to tune up, get working again and get the confidence back."

Bradford, whose run to the Capital One Cup final caught the imagination of every League Two club, are looking to get their own promotion campaign back on course.

They've slipped up recently, but arrive in Burslem on the back of victory at York at the weekend.

"They'll come here looking to win because a point is no good for them," warned Grew.

"They've got a good mix of quality players and they can be dangerous, as they've proved this season."