SIMON Davies is wary of the threat a rejuvenated Port Vale will pose at the Deva Stadium on Sunday.

New Vale boss Dean Glover made a spectacular start to his managerial reign last Saturday by masterminding a coupon-busting 2-1 win at promotion-chasing Shrewsbury Town.

The victory ended Vale’s run of six successive defeats – and set them up perfectly for this weekend’s noon derby with Chester.

Blues boss Davies reckons Saturday’s result owed much to the arrival of a new man in the hot seat.

He said: “It does shake things up. Dean’s been at the club for a while now (as assistant manager), but a new manager can come in and have his own ideas and generally wipe the slate clean with anybody who’s had problems with the manager before.

“That’s what players hope for – another chance. He’s come in and given them that and they’ve obviously responded in the correct manner.”

The Blues have lost only once in the league since August 23 but they have picked up too many draws for Davies’ liking. The City boss feels his team can turn the draws into wins by eradicating the defensive errors which have cropped up all too regularly.

Chester were in a winning position at Chesterfield last Saturday – but a misjudgement from Shaun Kelly allowed Jamie Ward in for an equaliser.

“We give sloppy goals away,” admitted Davies. “We’ve shared it around the defensive six or seven, so there’s not really been one person whose door you could lay the blame at.

“Shaun held his hand up on Saturday and said he mistimed a header for their goal. It was as simple as that. Against Morecambe, Kevin Roberts and John Danby made mistakes to combine for their goal.

“The only decent goal that I can remember scored against us was the first game of the season at Dagenham – a free kick. Except for that, there have been a lot of individual errors which is frustrating.

“If we can stop leaking these silly goals, it’s not rocket science to say we’ll start getting results.”

There is mixed news for Davies on the selection front. He was able to complete the signings of Eddie Johnson and assistant boss Wayne Ellison this week, as well as handing professional contracts to youth team prospects Glenn Rule and Andy Mitchell.

But Richie Partridge and Laurence Wilson are still sidelined through injury and James Vaughan must serve a one-match ban for picking up five yellow cards this season.

Rule is favourite to take Vaughan’s right-back slot.

Sunday’s game is not all-ticket for home fans so Blues supporters can pay at the turnstiles.