Martin Wild speaks with Shane Cansdell-Sherriff

Today's defeat at the hands of Port Vale, put a blight on Shane Cansdell-Sherriff's day. The Aussie left back had his two sons, Mekhi and Kobi, amongst the club mascots ahead of kick-off. But John McCombe's headed winner in first half stoppage time soured the event somewhat.

"It was a frustrating game, one that we didn't start really until we went a man down," he said. "With ten men and going a goal down right on half-time, that really killed us and we couldn't get back into it. If we'd started the game well we could have turned them and got in their faces straight away, but it didn't happen today and that's disappointing."

Referring to the goal which settled this feisty encounter, Shane had this to say: "I think we were a bit guilty of switching off at a key time in the game. Sometimes you can get attracted to the ball a bit when it's bouncing around like that, instead of staying with your man. You take your eye off the player closest to you and watch the ball and you see what can happen. So yeah, you can say we switched off and maybe that's because it came so late in the half when a little bit of tiredness creeps in."

In fairness to Vale, they were probably the better side on the day, and once they'd got the lead, they rarely looked in danger of surrendering it.

"They're a big team and they didn't allow us many chances, but for whatever reason I just don't think we turned up today," said the full-back, in an honest assessment of Town's under-par performance. "There's a real togetherness in the squad though this season, and a real hunger. So all next week, we'll look at what we did wrong today, and work doubly hard to make sure we're right for next Saturday, and go again."

With next week's opponents propping up the division and without a win all season, I asked if that particular stat played on player's minds and put them under slightly more pressure.

"Well, it doesn't play on my mind. I approach every game the same - it's just another game. I can't speak for others but the way I see it is if you approach it in the right frame of mind, it doesn't matter if the opposition has lost every game or won every game. You have to have the right mentality. And if you can demonstrate in the first twenty that you're there for a battle and to do business, then the game should hold no fears for you."

The referee's performance today was also brought into question, with several yellow cards being shown. A second in the direction of Town skipper Graham Coughlan, tipped the scales even further in Vale's direction.

"You could see his intentions right from the start. He showed a yellow in the first thirty seconds or something. When he sent the skipper off it made it really hard, and some of the cards were really harsh I thought. All it does is slow down the pace of the game and it's hard to get into any kind of rhythm when it's like that. Also, when you lose a man it means you end up having to shuffle the team around. We missed Joss today but I think Macca (Kevin McIntyre) put in a great performance in the centre there so fair play to him."

There was huge confusion at the end when Mr. Bratt produced a red card, with the assembled press unsure as to whether it was Dean Holden or Steve Phillips the recipient. In the end it was neither, but Shane was happy to put me right.

"Yeah, he did pull out a red because he thought Deano (Dean Holden) had been given a yellow in the first-half. So he's given him the yellow and then showed a red which was where the confusion came from 'til he realised that he hadn't been booked."

The defender is reasonably happy with the team's performances after 12 matches, though he accepts that perhaps they started the campaign slowly.

"The team has a strong togetherness about it," he said. "We didn't get off to the kind of start that we did last season, but there's a lot of new faces here. There's a really good spirit about the place and the goals are being shared around too, so that's been pleasing too."

On a personal level, Cansdell-Sherriff has settled very well this season mostly at left-back, but he looked equally comfortable alongside Kelvin Langmead once the team had been reduced to ten men. So was he enjoying his football again?

"I'm quite happy with my own performances and I'm trying to use last season as a motivational thing really, 'cos I don't want to be sat on that bench again that's for sure. I knew I needed to pull my finger out if I wanted to be playing in the first team again. I'm happy with my fitness and I'm doing as much as I can each week to make sure that I stay right on top of my game, and cut out the silly mistakes which can cost you your place."