RIPLEY: WE ONLY HAVE OURSELVES TO BLAME FOR CAMPAIGN OF STRUGGLE
PORT Vale goalkeeper Connor Ripley is determined to avoid an unwanted League One record in the final two matches of the season.
Ripley was relegated from the division with Morecambe last season - and now finds himself in a similar scrap for survival.
The Valiants are in the relegation zone, three points from safety, ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Bolton Wanderers.
They finish their campaign next Saturday at home to Cambridge United.
Ripley believes Vale are still in with a chance of beating Bolton and taking it to the last day.
He said: “I think we all know what’s at stake. We are going to Bolton away, which is a difficult place at the best of times, but we have got the mentality of there’s still a chance and if there is a chance to be taken, we are going to do our best to take it. We are going to try and go there and get three points.
“When you are not mathematically down, there is always hope and something to believe in. We are in a bit of a mess right now, but things can happen.
“We could go to Bolton and win and then it all comes down to the last game of the season against Cambridge. It is down to us to do it and we are going to try our best.”
Asked if he could put his finger on what has gone wrong, he said: “It’s a difficult one because we can’t really dwell on the past.
“When you do that in football it can start a rot and be horrible, but we are all human. We know what has happened in the season.
“We shouldn’t really be in this situation especially with the players we have got and the facilities we have but we have had chances to get out of this mess and we haven’t done it and we have only got ourselves to blame.
“There’s a lot of things that can go on in a season. The first game was a 7 0 thumping against Barnsley and then all of a sudden we went on an incredible run.
“I think we played Burton to go top of the league and we lost. It’s not like we don’t know how to win games, how it feels to get a run and confidence high but it’s been a very turbulent season for all of us and I think it has shown.
“It’s really disappointing. I don’t want to be relegated twice in two seasons. With Morecambe, again it went down to the last game and in hindsight we should probably have never got to the last game. We should have been relegated a few weeks prior to that.”
Ripley says that when he signed for Vale in the summer, the talk was about being at the other end.
“I came here and the conversations I had with David Flitcroft (former director of football) were nothing like relegation. He was adamant we were going to be around the playoffs and pushing for promotion but things happen in the season,” he added.
“For me personally it doesn’t look great but I know I give my all on the pitch and always do what I can for the boys and for the fans. I’d like to think the fans can see that. I wear my heart on my sleeve, it’s been a difficult few weeks but we are not mathematically down. We are still capable of getting out of this.
“Being a footballer you have to be thick skinned. It’s one of those things. You have got many critics and many people who have their own opinions. People who don’t know anything about football and still come for us and w have just got to take it on the chin.
“It can get frustrating sometimes. But everyone is mentally strong. Being a goalkeeper it is a lonely position and you have to be.
“If you make any mistakes you have got to get up, brush yourself down and get on with it. I am fortunately equipped for this scenario and hoping come Saturday we still have a fighting chance.”