I bloody hate Vale Park! It seems that this is a bogey ground for Rangers as I have yet to see us turn in a half decent performance in four or five attempts. Yesterday followed a familiar pattern as a poor Rangers team were defeated by a slightly less poor Vale side.

Yet more changes were enforced on Ian Holloway with Forbes, Peacock and Connolly all missing from the side that beat Wrexham. A curious team selection saw Mark Perry come in on the right of midfield with Matthew Rose switching to right back. Bonnot lined up alongside Langley in the middle and Doudou teamed up with Kevin Gallen in attack.

I don't know about you lot but I don't like Rose at right back and Perry out wide. When Rose first arrived at the club he proved beyond doubt that he is not and never will be a right back, today he found himself caught out of position on a number of occasions. Likewise Perry is no right winger, he is however a right back. The question has to be asked why Rose wasn't in centre midfield with Langley wide and Perry at the back.

With a howling gale blowing into the faces of the Rangers players and fans alike in the first half the start was perilously slow. With Digby struggling to reach halfway with his kicks the ball never seemed to be clear for long enough to mount any sort of attack. The midfield were being overrun with Langley producing his worst performance since his return. Alongside the lightweight Bonnot the pair produced little opposition to Cummins and veteran Durnin in the centre.

The only goal of the game came as a result of a howler from Griffiths. After initially doing well to track Matt Carraghers run he picked up the ball fifteen yards from the corner flag. He should have put his foot through it and cleared his lines but he chose to play a one-two with Bignot. The only problem with this was that it turned out to be a one only! His weak pass was intercepted and played to Durnin. He was allowed to weave past a couple of defenders before finding the unmarked Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. He had all the time in the world to curl a fine effort over Digby into the corner.

Rangers tried to respond and saw a fair amount of the ball; the only problem was we couldn't do a thing with it. The only two efforts of note were a Gallen header from a Perry cross that Mark Goodlad turned over the bar; and a shot from Bignot that was straight down the keeper's throat. Doudou also managed to fire wide when well placed.

It seemed obvious to me that the midfield was being taken to pieces and more numbers were needed. Half time saw a change in personnel and formation. Perry and Griffiths made way for Murphy and Pacquette and we switched to 3-5-2. The difference was immediate and Rangers began to play some half-decent stuff. You could see that everybody was far more comfortable and nobody found themselves playing out of position.

Richard Pacquette should have scored the equaliser when he found himself one on one with Goodlad. His first touch was poor and the keeper saved bravely at his feet. This was typical of his contribution throughout the afternoon and in the first team in general. Nobody can doubt his ability and some of the goals he scores in the reserves are sensational, his problem seems to be one of confidence. He seems unable to carry his confidence at reserve level onto the bigger stage and it is beginning to hinder him. It is no good scoring for fun and getting noticed if you let yourself down when the opportunity to step up comes along.

For Vale, the front pair of Brooker and McPhee caused few problems for Shittu, Palmer and Digby. The only time McPhee managed to get in behind with his excellent pace his finishing was wayward at best. I thought Palmer in particular had one of his better games for a while in what could best be described as testing conditions.

The two best chances of the second half fell to Doudou and he should have made at least one of them count. Firstly he headed over from six yards following Bignot's sumptuous cross and then he fired wide from ten yards when well placed. Two chances you fancy an in form Thomson would have snapped up, oh for the player we had before Christmas.

Langley tried to score goal of the season by beating two players without the ball touching the ground. Unfortunately his fierce volley was well blocked by the Valiants defence. It was indicative of his afternoon in many ways, tried hard but delivered little.

The team were booed off, harshly in my opinion, by a number of Rangers fans. Yes, we were poor in the first half, but the second half effort cannot be faulted. We are in a run at the moment where nothing is falling for us and the confidence of the team is beginning to ebb away. All we need is lucky goal to fly in off somebody's arse and it'll probably set us on our way again.

With two home games this week, we need to take six points and rattle a few in to keep us in the hunt. We find ourselves six points off the play-offs and we have to start narrowing the gap now. I don't think any of the four places will be decided until the last day and it would be nice to be in the shake up. Promotion this year should not be the ultimate goal though. If we can build on what Holloway has already achieved we have the ability to do something akin to Millwall next year and I think we should all keep our fingers crossed that we keep this squad together.