Try as I might on Friday night, I could not get off to sleep.

Even my preferred method of dropping off, which involves me reliving Paul Mullin’s goal against Morecambe after a mistake from Darren Kempson, failed to blank out the last-minute equaliser that never happened at Port Vale.

We all thought the ball was in the net. After all, the lads deserved it, having beaten the Vale all ends up in the second half.

It was not to be, and the Stanley fans left a frozen Burslem thinking of what might have been.

We conceded a pathetic goal and our defence was so static I thought the referee had blown for a foul. But following the half-time break, Stanley dominated proceedings and should have forced a replay.

It feels a bit odd to say it’s been a bad week to be a Stanley fan because we went to ex-Premier League side Bradford on Tuesday and came away with a point.

And then we go to top of the table Port Vale and only lose by one goal.

But if we are serious about a push up the table we need to turn first-half performances like the one at Bradford into three points, and the cash from a replay against Vale would have been a massive boost for the club.

Perhaps the lack of cash will force the hand of the current management and the stalemate can be lifted to allow Ilyas Khan in to sort out the mess.

I’m positive we will survive this season – and that will be five years in the Football League, equalling that of Boston United not so long ago.

Stanley fans want John Coleman to have an improved chance of promotion and a permanent training facility, but this will only happen with a new board and not the make do and mend of the past.