SCORING a glorious winner would be a bonus.

But as he prepares to face his previous club, Town’s Malvin Kamara says he’ll be happy simply to contribute to a much-needed League I win over Port Vale tomorrow.

The London-born winger who turns 24 later this month made 18 appearances for the Potteries club last season after joining from Cardiff during the January transfer window.

He’s got a lot of time for Port Vale as a club and many people connected with them and sympathises with their current predicament (third-bottom of the table and only 11 points from a possible 39).

But Town are Kamara’s focus now, and he knows the Galpharm club’s own situation (17th in the 24-team table with 14 points) isn’t that much better than Vale’s.

That’s why he’s eager to get the chance to help the team atone for the dismal 3-0 defeat at Tranmere seven days ago.

“Nobody can be confident of keeping their place, and nobody needs to be told how important it is that we win tomorrow,” said Kamara, who began his career at MK Dons.

“It’s clear that our current record isn’t anything like good enough, and it’s down to us as players to put things right, and quickly.”

The Vale meeting is the first of two crucial home matches in four days, with 13th-placed Hartlepool visiting on Tuesday (they are away to Millwall tomorrow).

Kamara understands the pressure is on to bag maximum points, and believes Town have the ability to do it.

“That has to be the target, and as a squad, we know we’re well capable,” he insisted.

“We’ve shown glimpses of what we’re about, but since making a bright start to the season, we’ve been coming up with far too many mistakes, and we have to cut them out.

“It goes without saying that we’ve let ourselves down in terms of defending, and that involves the entire team.

“We gave away two goals from set-pieces at Tranmere, and that’s because too many of us weren’t doing our jobs properly.

“We’ve had another big week on the training ground, and it’s vitally important that we start translating that work into matches.”

While Town’s goals against tally (22 in 13 games) is a cause of alarm, so too is their sluggish scoring rate (10).

Kamara has contributed two, in the 2-1 win at Millwall and 3-2 home defeat by Cheltenham, and like his manager Andy Ritchie, he believes there are more to come.

But the man who lost a housemate when on-loan defender Richard Keogh returned to Bristol City this week is adamant that in the current climate, the team’s scoring record comes far above his own in terms of importance.

“If I can put a goal away all well and good, but it really doesn’t matter who scores, as long as we win,” he said.

While Kamara’s old Vale teammates Leon Constantine and Akpo Sodje have both left the club (moving to Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday respectively), another of his friends, Luke Rodgers, is banging them in, having netted eight so far this season.

“Luke joined them from Crewe in the summer, and while the team has been struggling a bit, he’s done well,” explained Kamara.

“He had a good record at Crewe and Shrewsbury before that, and we’ll have to keep a close eye on him.

“That goes for all the Vale team though, and it’s crucial we’re ready to meet the challenges they will pose us.”