Steven Pressley has described Carlisle United's trip to Port Vale as "a million per cent" a must-win game for their promotion prospects.

The fourth-placed Blues were unable to add further to their squad in time for the Vale Park clash.

Pressley had been hoping to bring in a midfielder but no deal had been struck ahead of the meeting with the 18th-placed Valiants.

It means United's bid to further strengthen their ranks could go to the wire with the transfer deadline next Thursday.

They are still seeking reinforcements in defence, midfield and attack.

One new face, Monday's arrival Arthur Gnahoua, could make his debut in Pressley's first away game in charge today.

The manager has said the fourth-placed Blues must have the attitude that victory is essential in order to maintain their challenge.

“A million per cent, that’s what I expect," Pressley said.

"If we’re serious about achieving what we want to achieve, Port Vale is a must-win game for us."

It will be the final game of midfielder Jack Sowerby's loan spell, while Macaulay Gillesphey could be in the squad for the last time before knee surgery which could sideline him for six to eight weeks.

Fellow defender Gary Liddle is undergoing medical procedures in the hope he can soon return from a knee problem.

There is no sign yet of any agreement from Canada defender David Edgar to join the Cumbrians for training. United said "discussions are ongoing".

Elsewhere, Rotherham boss Paul Warne had been hoping to sign a striker, a move that could enable Jerry Yates to rejoin United on loan.

The Millers, though, have yet to land their man, meaning Carlisle look set to be kept waiting.

Today's opponents, set to include former Blues midfielder Luke Joyce, have not won a home league game since October.

Pressley said: "They [Port Vale] changed the shape of their team last weekend, they played a little bit like Cheltenham in respect of their shape - they went to a back three. They’ve been playing in general with a back four but changed and had a positive result on the back of that.

"The likelihood is they’ll remain in a three but we’ll prepare for a three and a four.

"They had a positive result at Crawley last weekend which will breed some confidence into them, because they are on a disappointing run.

"For me it’s about going there in a positive mindset and for me, these are the games that, if we’re serious about challenging, we have to win.

"We will not be satisfied with a draw at Port Vale, we are going there to win.

That has to be our mindset. We want promotion, and to get promotion these are the games we must continue to get the three points from."

United have won seven games on the road this season and Pressley said the attacking style which had brought such results would continue.

“We have to maintain that," he said.

"It will be a case of improving on the aspects we’re working on, doing a lot of the things we’ve already done even better, that’s the message."

The new boss added: “There’s a lot of hard work ahead and the moment we take our eye off the ball we’ll be in trouble.

"We’ve achieved in my opinion what [the players have] achieved this season by hard work and doing the basics of football properly. We must continue to do that if we’re going to be successful."

Pressley said Carlisle should not ignore the struggles on home soil endured by Neil Aspin's side today.

“It’s not irrelevant – although they had a really positive result and the team worked so hard for their manager last weekend, there's always a nervousness, especially at home, when you haven’t been getting results.

"If we start the game well we can bring a nervousness to the players and supporters, and that's something we'll be trying to do.”

Vale could include new loan striker Mark Harris, who joined from Cardiff this week.

They are without injured frontman Tom Pope.

"Pope at this moment in time is missing for another three or four weeks," Pressley said.

"When you’ve watched them, you see he's a key player, a pivotal player, quite an iconic player for them.

"It's a big blow for them but the player that came in last week [Ricky Miller] scored the goal for them, and he's a good player also.

"It's really important we concentrate and give Port Vale the utmost respect, but it's very important we implement our way on the game."

Home boss Aspin said on Vale's website: "It's going to be a difficult game because Carlisle are doing well, they've won seven of their last ten games.

"But we can't pick and choose who we're going to play. We've got to improve our own form.

"We have to make sure we defend better than we have done in the home games because we need to be solid to try and win the game."