Boss on the returning Matt Tootle

Steve Davis praised the performance of his consistent defender Matt Tootle after he returned to first team action against Port Vale on Saturday. Tootle had only trained for a couple of days after overcoming a troublesome foot injury but looked like he had never been out with another assured display in the local derby.

After the club’s 2-1 defeat in what was a better all-round performance, Steve said: “Every time we have got one back, we have lost another one this season. We have been rather unlucky with that, so it will be nice to have everybody fit to choose from.

“It was good to have Matt (Tootle) and Ryan (Colclough) back on Saturday, albeit Ryan only came on towards the end of the game.

“We have missed Toots, who has been one of our most consistent players this season. He only trained for a couple of days, so to play like he did was a real positive. He was good and gave it a real go.

He added: “He probably wasn’t able to bomb on as much as he would have liked because of his match fitness, but he is a very fit lad naturally and that will come back. He will get back to his level soon and has come through okay, so that is a bonus.”