Brady 'baffled' by Vale's hectic fixtures schedule

Port Vale boss Jon Brady says he is "baffled" by a fixture schedule until the end of the season that will see them play 12 games in the space of 43 days. Vale's run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they will play Premier League Chelsea on 4 April, has been a major factor in the pile-up. And it will see them play 11 League One games and at least that one cup tie, between taking on Bolton this Saturday and the visit of Lincoln on the final day of the season on Saturday, 2 May.

Stockport County making the final of the Vertu Trophy has also meant their league fixture with Vale had to be fitted in as a midweek game on 28 April. Brady said Vale had written to the English Football League about the matter, but they turned down the club's request to extend the season. "Unfortunately, we've had no help from the EFL, which has been really frustrating," Brady - whose side have just finished a run of four league games and two FA Cup ties in 18 days - told BBC Radio Stoke.

"We've written some emails to them and asked if they could help us. It's due to your care of the players as well. "As you can see, the group has already been breaking.

But it is what it is. " A spokesperson for the EFL told BBC Sport: "They presented a few options, one was to extend the season which we weren't able to do due to rules. "The other was to move a few games to separate the days but the problem with doing that is that it impacts other clubs and it's a bit of a domino effect.