They oversaw an upturn in results, though the club exited the FA Cup following a replay in the Second Round; Aspin bemoaned refereeing decisions that saw Vale reduced to nine men, though they managed to take Yeovil Town into extra time despite twice going behind with two fewer players.

[6] Also arriving were Colombian winger Cristian Montaño, released from Bristol Rovers, and former Vale youth team centre-back Joe Davis, on a free transfer from Fleetwood Town, and 22-year-old Burton Albion goalkeeper Sam Hornby.

[13] He took on a wide variety of players on trial, including: Danny Green, Neal Eardley, Michael Tonge, Gavin Gunning, Billy Whitehouse, Tom Walker, Gaetan Lenoir, and Nicolas Guidicelli.

[16] As last season's captain Ben Purkiss rejected a new contract offer, Brown signed right-back Lawrie Wilson on a free transfer from Bolton Wanderers to replace him.

[18] On the same day that Barnett was revealed to have suffered a serious hamstring tear, the club announced that trialist centre-back Gavin Gunning had signed a contract of undisclosed-length.

[19][20] The day before the opening game of the season, Brown secured veteran trialist midfielder Michael Tonge to a one-year deal, and also brought in 21-year-old winger Ben Whitfield on a half-season loan from A.F.C.

[22] Adebayo Akinfenwa put Wycombe Wanderers ahead within two minutes of the opening home game of the season at Vale Park on 12 August, and by the 25-minute mark he had scored the opposition's final goal of a 3–2 defeat for the "Valiants".

[23] In the week following the defeat to Wycombe, both Anton Forrester and Danny Pugh were ruled out of action for three to four months, and Brown signed 20-year-old Sheffield Wednesday winger Jack Stobbs on a season-long loan.

[24][25] The match at Chesterfield was declared "Ernie Moss Day" in tribute to the legend of both clubs, but another poor performance saw Vale slip to a 2–0 defeat to a side that had previously failed to pick up a point.

[32] A sixth consecutive league loss followed in a 2–0 defeat at Luton Town, which was also the sixth-successive game in all competitions in which Vale had failed to score a goal – a club record.

[36] His confidence was misplaced however, as he was sacked shortly after the match; his assistants, David "Ned" Kelly and Chris Morgan were placed in charge of the club on an interim basis.

[2] Three days later his new team got off to an excellent start at home to Grimsby Town as they were leading 1–0 at half-time with a Tom Pope goal, but then a second-half turnaround saw them lose the match 2–1 and slip back into the relegation zone.

[45] Following an injury to Roos, Aspin acted swiftly to sign the big Bulgarian goalkeeper Dimitar Evtimov on loan from Nottingham Forest, who started immediately in the 3–0 home defeat to Swindon Town.

[49] Going into November, Aspin signed 20-year box-to-box midfielder Chris Regis, who had previously entered non-League football after spending time on the books at Arsenal, Southampton and Colchester United.

[51] Fellow relegation battlers Barnet arrived in Burslem on 18 November, and Vale claimed a hard-fought victory after Pope converted a late penalty won by Gibbons.

[64] Vale opened the New Year with a 1–0 defeat at second-placed Notts County, and though Aspin was pleased with his players he was highly critical of the referee for his award of a late penalty, calling it "a really bad decision".

[70] Gunning made his debut for Forest Green on 6 January, and kept a clean sheet as Rovers beat the Vale 1–0 with a goal from fellow débutante Reuben Reid; Aspin apologized to supporters after the match for the team's performance.

[71] Aspin went on to allow Lawrie Wilson to join National League side Ebbsfleet United after the full-back failed to make the first-team under his tenure.

[72] He also agreed to terminate the contract of French midfielder Anthony de Freitas, whilst bringing in striker Donovan Wilson on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

[78] Jules made his debut and Lainton returned to the starting eleven for the visit of Colchester on 27 January, and Vale managed to secure a 2–2 draw despite a poor performance thanks to a brace from Worrall.

"[99] Angus scored on his home debut on 28 April, but this was not enough to prevent the final match of the season at Vale Park being a 2–1 defeat to Carlisle United, much to Aspin's disappointment.

[101] At the end of the season Aspin released ten players – Chris Regis, Ryan Boot, Luke Dennis, Anton Forrester, Graham Kelly, Kjell Knops, Harry Middleton, Billy Reeves, Joe Slinn and Charlie Walford – and transfer-listed Tyrone Barnett, Joe Davis, Callum Howe and Rob Lainton, as he attempted to build his own squad for the 2018–19 season.

[105] Speaking in August, Smurthwaite said that the wage budget was 20% higher than the previous season due to the extra money raised from the sales of Jak Alnwick and Anthony Grant in January 2017.

[116] However, the match ended on a sour note as Brown accused hat-trick hero Samuel Sáiz of spitting at Davis just before half-time, and Gunning was sent off as Vale fell to a 4–1 defeat.

[117] Vale were drawn into EFL Trophy Northern Group D, alongside Oldham Athletic, Newcastle United Academy, and local rivals Crewe Alexandra.

They began the group with their solitary away game, playing out a 0–0 draw with League One side Oldham at Boundary Park, before they managed to pick up two points after winning the resulting penalty shoot-out.