No sterner test than Wolves tie - Vale boss Brady

Port Vale face “no sterner test” for an opening competitive game of the new season than Friday’s Carabao Cup tie against Wolves, says boss Jon Brady.

Relegated from the Premier League last season, Wolves are expected to be strong candidates to go straight back up from the Championship this term.

Vale have their own promotion ambitions in League Two after dropping out of the third tier in 2025-26, and Brady is keen to see where his side is at in the game at Molineux after their pre-season.

“It certainly means something. If you don’t win you’re out, if you win you’re through. There’s no sterner test,” he told BBC Radio Stoke.

“I’m excited. I spoke to the boys about the excitement to see them at probably one of the best tests they’ll get.

“When the draw came out you were like: ‘Wow’. There’s a team that’s come down from the Premier League and expecting to bounce back this season.

“So it’s a real strong test but I want to see how we stand up to it.”

Vale set to play with a different style

Wolves are undergoing their own rebuild under new head coach Cesar Peixoto and Brady has already been impressed by what he has seen.

“The level of player they’ve got there is very good. Obviously we’ll need to be extremely organised in and out of possession and know that they really try and suffocate you in their press,” he said.

“Obviously, a new manager’s come in and implemented his style and it’s a real strong, aggressive 4-3-3 and they’ve been lauded in the last couple of weeks about how aggressive their press has been in the middle of the pitch and how they’re breaking on teams.”

Brady said he felt no team in the EFL is facing a harder tie that Vale in the first round but vowed to “take it head on”.

He said: “We’ve faced tough tests before but it’s really about the performance for us. We’re going to put our best team out possible and try to play the best we can.

“Let’s go out and attack it – that’s the only way I want to go.”

• All the latest Port Vale news

Brady has overseen a significant overhaul of his squad during the summer, with 12 players brought in on various deals, and said fans might see a different style this season.

“It’s still early, but you want to see the fruits of your labour and see how that transcends onto the pitch,” he said.

“Obviously you want to excite our fans, you want to win games, so obviously our style is probably going to change.

“I had to stick at a certain style last season and hopefully we’re a little bit more fluid, but I don’t want to lose our purpose.

“Roughly 50% of the squad’s changed and we’re trying to gel and knit that together. That’ll take time, but we feel we’re improving each week and that’s the most important thing.”