IF nothing else, Aaron Morley knows he will have plenty of ground to cover when he steps out at Port Vale on Saturday.

At 114 yards long and 77 wide (source – Wikipedia) the Vale Park pitch dwarfs even that of the University of Bolton Stadium, which measures at 110 yards by 72.

It is also second to West Brom’s Hawthorns for altitude in the EFL, not that the atmosphere in Burslem will be a particular problem for Morley, who has been a breath of fresh air in the Bolton midfield thus far.

The Radcliffe playmaker – signed from Rochdale in January – has continued the momentum he had gained by the end of last season and has scored against Ipswich and Wycombe in the last two weekends.

No wonder, then, that he has been quickly adopted as a favourite among the Wanderers faithful, with the club shop doing a good trade on ‘Morley’ shirts since the new kits were launched.

“It’s great to hear them chant your name, especially when you score in front of them,” Morley told The Bolton News. “The fans are great.

“I just put in the work in training and try to put in good performances and then, hopefully, the fans will take to you, like I think they have to me.

“You never know, we might get a few more shirts sold with my name on them!”

On current form, it would be a good bet. Morley’s pin-point distribution has caught the eye since his arrival, and the sub £100,000 fee paid to his former club is now looking an excellent bit of business.

That passing range could come in useful this weekend at Vale, on a pitch once deemed the most expensive in the land.

Costing the princely sum of £100, the original surface when the stadium opened – then boasting a capacity of 40,000 - was the envy of the land. Nowadays, its dimensions have altered down the years to suit Vale’s playing style but its legend as one of the league’s biggest pitches has continued.

“I think it’s borderline illegal!” Morley joked. “It actually is – it’s that big. But it might just suit us because we like playing out from the back. But it really is huge.

“I think I won when I last played there (for Rochdale). They were very good. They were always in the game. We (Rochdale) beat them 3-2 but I think we went behind in the game. They were very good defensively and they were quite good on the ball. Hopefully, we can come away with the three points.”

Wanderers have been forced to show both sides of their game since kicking off at Portman Road a fortnight ago, and while Morley would love to see more of the rush and swagger shown against Wycombe, he suspects the Whites will have to show their resolve in the Potteries.

“It’ll be a tough game,” he said. “We don’t really know what to expect from them but if we can put in a performance like we did against Wycombe then we can come away with three points. “Ipswich was a tough game and they put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the second half. We had to hang in there and defend well. “Against Wycombe we dominated the ball and the game was really open. I could show my attacking side more.

“We know we will have to work hard against Port Vale. We can’t just think that they are a League Two because they are here now. They have got that winning mentality and hopefully we can turn them over on Saturday.”

Morley has also assumed responsibility for penalties after scoring in pre-season.

With Dion Charles side-lined for the next few weeks, the youngster sees it as a good chance to top up his goal tally.

“I took one at Carlisle and scored and then I think MJ gave me the ball at Ipswich and said, ‘You’re taking it’. Hopefully, I will be on them for the rest of the season,” he said.

“Especially with Conor Bradley – he is really good at getting into the box and winning them, so hopefully I can get myself into double figures.”

“Yeah definitely. Especially with Conor (Bradley) penalties, he is really good at it. So hopefully I can get into double figures.”

His spot kick at Ipswich drew comparisons from Ian Evatt to England skipper Harry Kane.

The mention of it drew a wry smile from the 22-year-old.

“No pressure, then!” Morley added.