LEE NOVAK would love the chance of taking part in a knockout showdown against Premier League opposition.

But the Geordie frontman accepts that to put themselves into the draw for the second round of the Carling Cup, Town need to smarten up their act.

Port Vale provide the barrier between Lee Clark’s side and a place in the hat on Thursday night (the pairings will be made after the televised tie between Sheffield Wednesday and Blackpool).

And Novak knows tonight’s Burslem tie is likely to provide a tough test.

Both sides go into the contest on the back of opening-day draws, with Town held 1-1 by Bury and Vale 2-2 by League II newcomers Crawley.

While it took a stoppage-time leveller by Louis Dodds to rescue the team from the Potteries, Town led through Gary Roberts, only to concede an equaliser in their League I clash.

“We were all disappointed by the performance and the result,” admitted Novak, who came off the bench in the 52nd minute.

“We didn’t play the way we wanted to or the way we were told to, but we had chances and should have put more of them away.

“We managed to get the breakthrough goal, but weren’t at our best and Bury capitalised on that by grabbing an equaliser.

“Now we need to improve against Port Vale, and we know we’ll have to be fully focused, because they will want to hit back after Saturday as well.”