That was Vale’s second win in a row with a 3-0 victory coming in their previous league fixture over East Kilbride Thistle. With a home tie against bottom side Newmains on Saturday, the Millburn Park have a great chance to put another three points on the board and boost their promotion chances.

Hamill told SportScene: “It pulls us back into the reckoning a bit after the start we had. It’s a short season — only 20 games — so you can’t afford a blip.

“We are in a position where we probably can’t afford any more slip ups but I think when we have our full squad we are as good as anyone in the league.” Saturday’s win came at a cost as captain Kenny Wilson was sent off for a last man foul in the 37th minute and will miss next week’s game. Hamill disagreed with the decision but was delighted with his side’s performance considering their numerical disadvantage as goals from David McNaught, Craig Cowan, Mark Pawsey and two from Lee McGeachy sealed the win.

He said: “It is a difficult place to go so we were expecting a tough game. At times we played well and considering the amount of time we played with 10 men, to come away with the victory was really good.

“To send him off was incredibly harsh. It was outside the box, it wasn’t through the middle, we had our back four in place.

“I’m not saying it wasn’t a foul, it was probably obstruction and deserved a yellow card.” Vale’s squad will be strengthened for the Newmains match as they welcome back Brian Wardle, James Crowhurst and Gary Stillwell who were unavailable for the tie with Forth.