Daley's magic boot does the trick for City

While the rest of Saturday’s side enjoy a bonus breather today, the Jamaican will be back at Valley Parade going through his paces.

Daley is still finding his fitness after nearly a year on the sidelines. So there is no extra time allowed to put his feet up.

He smiled: “I’m in every day working on getting fitter. I didn’t have a day off last week either.

“Everyone else is off apart from me. But I don’t mind too much!”

Peter Taylor got his first glimpse of what Daley is capable of with the sizzling 25-yarder that flew into the Aldershot net midway through the first half.

Not a bad impression to make on your first start for the new manager.

But there was only one man that Daley wanted to milk the moment with.

Damian Buck had been his regular companion through rehab since the physio’s arrival last summer. So Daley made sure that he acknowledged that support by sprinting straight over to the bench after the ball hit the net.

Daley dedicated the goal to the fans but his celebrations were reserved for the physio.

Daley said: “I told him from day one that I promised I would come to him when I scored next.

“Damion’s become my best mate in the club because he looks after me. The other players say he gives me more rubdowns than anybody!

“But we’ve been together that long since I got injured. Damo’s a nice guy and a good physio and I’m so grateful to him for getting me back up and running 100 per cent.”

Daley’s recovery goes on, hence the reason for a solo session on the training ground this morning.

Taylor knows he has a match-winner in the ranks but there are no special rules. In the new manager’s vision of drumming in team shape and discipline, Daley is expected to muck in just the same as the rest.

He added: “It’s all different with the manager. He is trying to organise everything we do.

“He wants two banks of four and strikers can’t stand upfield now and relax, they have to get back.

“Everyone wants to impress him and it’s getting competitive every day in training.

“There are no guarantees. Just because I’ve scored doesn’t mean I’m going to keep the shirt.”

Taylor’s methods are getting results – that’s four wins in seven now since he assumed the hot-seat.

A quiet revolution is taking place. The old guard are becoming marginalised as the manager brings his own ideas – and players – to the fore.

His actions don’t suggest someone just passing through. Surely it cannot be long before discussions open with the board to extend his stay beyond its current end-of-season limit.

City have even won both his home games – the last time they managed two in a row at Valley Parade was a year ago when Aldershot were demolished 5-0.

That scoreline was never going to happen again but the fact City clambered back from going an early goal down against a side that had beaten them 11 days earlier confirms the gradual progress being made.

Taylor got his response after Port Vale.

There was one other change from midweek as giant defender Luke Oliver made his debut at centre half.

Not surprisingly, he won pretty much every header going. He also got away with his one blunder of the day, diving in wrecklessly on Marvin Morgan, who could easily have gone down and won a penalty.

Instead Morgan kept his feet to set up fellow sub Marlon Jackson for a header that looked far harder to miss. Yet he managed it.

That was the only noteworthy action of the second half, other than Daley’s comical yellow card for a tumble in the Aldershot box that Cristiano Ronaldo would have been ashamed of.

City were pushed back but coped well enough, without ever threatening to extend their slender advantage.

All the goals and the bulk of the excitement had come in the opening period.

Aldershot began on the front foot as City struggled to get near the ball. The visitors were afforded too much time, allowing them to pass at will – or at least as much as the bobbly surface would permit.

They needed only eight minutes to make all that possession count.

Matt Glennon was blamed by Taylor for Vale’s winner and the keeper won’t have been too happy with his part in the Aldershot goal either.

Nobody closed down Scott Donnelly but his shot should still have been held. Instead, Glennon pushed it out in the direction of Anthony Straker to net from a tight angle.

The fans weren’t happy and neither was Taylor. But City’s response was immediate. Flaky Venezuelan goalkeeper Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz escaped with a soft free-kick after being freaked out by Oliver’s presence but then he was left clutching at thin air as James Hanson made it 11 for the season.

It came from a quality combination between the two City strikers. Hanson’s flick-on sent Michael Flynn scurrying down the right and he checked inside Anthony Charles before supplying the perfect cross for the big man to bullet into the top corner.

Some cross, some spring from Hanson, some goal.

But that was just the warm-up for the main act eight minutes later.

Luke O’Brien bustled down the left flank to begin the danger. His cross was diverted out of the box by Aaron Brown and Daley seized on it, slipping inside Donnelly before sending a left-foot lash screaming past the keeper.

It was a strike worthy of winning any game. Thanks to Jackson’s missed sitter 20 minutes from time, that proved to be the case.

Nobody was going to spoil Daley’s day. Nor his team-mates’ day off.