Port Vale: Adams reveals he does have cash to spend

by Steve Shaw

PORT Vale boss Micky Adams says he has the cash at his disposal to offer trialist Wayne Gray a deal if the striker proves his worth.

The 28-year-old trained with Vale yesterday and will get the chance to impress Adams again with a good performance in tonight's reserve-team clash at Macclesfield Town (7pm).

Gray is a free agent after being released by League One Leyton Orient at the end of last season.

While Adams has yet to fully assess the former Vale loanee, he insists there is cash available to strengthen his squad.

He said: "I've said we will try to boost our options all over the pitch if we can. We're playing three up front at the moment so you can't have enough options.

"But I can't make anybody an offer until I've seen them play.

"We will look to strengthen the squad with the right players."

Further proof that Adams's budget isn't completely exhausted was seen earlier this month when the club made a contract offer to Claus Jorgensen.

Although the midfielder rejected the offer instead opting to join non-league outfit Fleetwood Town.

Gray was released by Orient after enduring a difficult time last season when a serious knee injury limited him to 16 appearances.

However, during his first season with the club he hit 10 goals, in 43 appearances, contributing to his 60 career strikes from 330 senior outings.

Vale fans may have fleeting memories of Gray, who made three appearances for the club in 2000 during a month-long loan spell from Wimbledon.

Gray also counts Southend and Yeovil among his former clubs.

Adams revealed that striker Danny Glover and midfielder Dave Howland are likely to feature in tonight's second-string clash, despite both players being on the transfer list.

Glover has just returned from a one-month loan spell with Salisbury City, and Adams is expecting a positive response from the 19-year-old.

"I would expect Danny to be like everybody else in trying to impress," he said. "While we're still paying players, they're still part of the club's future."Until they move on it would be foolish of me just to write people off."

STRIKER James Lawrie, who recently had his appendix removed, is expected to resume training this week.

VALE'S youth side started the defence of their Midland Youth Cup crown with a 6-1 victory at Hereford United.