Story byRuari Paton spent the second half of last season on loan at Dundee United [Shutterstock]Dan Wheeler - BBC Sport, West Midlands; Phil Bowers - BBC Radio StokeFri, December 5, 2025 at 8:31 AM UTC·3 min readPort Vale forward Ruari Paton says their 5-0 win over Barnsley has to be the inspiration for getting out of trouble in League One. Vale overwhelmed the Tykes in Tuesday's last-32 tie in the Vertu Trophy, with Paton scoring twice in their biggest win of the season and first victory in a month. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter five defeats in six left them three points adrift of safety at the bottom in the league, Paton says it is not easy to put his finger on what was different about their goal-laden performance against Barnsley."It's a hard question to answer - probably a bit more calmness," he told BBC Radio Stoke."[In the] Last couple of weeks, you can sense a tentativeness or an anxiety to score because you're thinking 'oh we need a win'. The other night there was more composure on the ball."We've probably been forcing things in the last couple of weeks. We seemed a lot more on the front foot [against Barnsley] and much better with the ball."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPaton felt things "just clicked" and there was "a lot to take" from their performance as they prepare for the FA Cup on Saturday."We came in and said 'we need to be like that every week'.