Aaron Morley is expecting a tough game when Bolton Wanderers take on Port Vale this weekend on a big pitch which he joked is 'borderline illegal' which he believes could end up suiting the Whites.
The Whites take on the Valiants this weekend at Vale Park. Wanderers aim aiming to continue their good start to the season which has given them four points from their first two matches.
This weekend's opponents Vale won promotion to League Two via the play-offs last season. Darrell Clarke's side will be aiming to cement their status in the third tier of English football this season and avoid the drop as a minimum.
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Morley is familair with the Valiants, having played against them last season for old club Rochdale before his January transfer window move to Wanderers. The big pitch at Vale Park could be something which the midfielder feels could suit the Whites.
Morley joked the size of the playing surface of the Burslem club is 'borderline illegal' but is under no illusions of the difficulty Wanderers face in taking on the Valiants. If past experience is anything to go by, Morley feels the playing surface could end up suiting Wanderers but they will need to put in a performance to pick up three points against the promoted side.
He said: “It is a very big pitch, but when I played there last we won so hopefully we can win again. I think it’s borderline illegal! I think it actually is, it’s that big! It’ll probably suit us because we like playing out from the back, but it’s huge.
“It will be a tough game, it’s a big pitch and hopefully we can come in numbers with the fans. We don’t know what to expect from them but if we can put in a performance like we did against Wycombe then we can come away with three points.
“They were very good. They were always in the game. We (Rochdale) beat them 3-2 but I think we went behind in the game. They were very good defensively and they were quite good on the ball. Hopefully, we can come away with the three points.”
“We can’t just think that they are a League Two because they are here now. They have got that winning mentality and hopefully we can turn them over on Saturday.”
Morley has two goals in his last two games, having scored a penalty against Ipswich Town in the League One opener, before adding his second last weekend in the win over Wycombe.
Morley has explained that the pre-season loss to Carlisle United in which he scored from the spot has helped him become the club's penalty taker this season. He is keen to be clincial from the spot.
Teams are often now changing their game plans to deal with Wanderers. Morley believes this is a compliment and is pleased with the different sides Wanderers have shown to their game so far this campaign.
He said: "I took one at Carlisle and scored and then I think MJ gave me the ball at Ipswich and said, ‘You’re taking it’. Hopefully, I will be on them for the rest of the season.
“Especially with Conor (Bradley) winning penalties, he is really good at it, hopefully I can get into double figures.
“Ipswich was a tough game and they put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the second half. We had to hang in there and defend well.
“Against Wycombe we dominated the ball and the game was really open. I could show my attacking side more.
“It’s definitely a compliment if teams are changing shape and changing how they play for us, it just shows how good we can be.
“We know we’ve still got a lot of work to do but the pieces are falling into place and hopefully we can keep putting performances like that against Wycombe.”
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