Walsall manager Jon Whitney has challenged his players to go out and win every game between now and the end of the season.

A disappointing campaign sees the Saddlers in 17th place, just five points clear of the drop. Speaking to the official Walsall site, Whitney had this to say to his under-fire squad:

“We’ve got 12 games left to make a statement, starting on Saturday at Southend. We have an opportunity now. We’ve got a mini season of 12 games and we are going to try to win every game. I understand that’s unlikely to happen, but we will head into every game believing we’ve got a chance of winning.”

Whitney's side have found some form of late, despite recent defeats against Blackburn and Peterborough they were unbeaten in four. Both Southend and Rochdale are typical six pointers and Whitney believes his side have the quality to do themselves proud, despite the two recent defeats.

"We can take positives from the second half against Blackburn and a lot of our play at Peterborough, where I thought we were the better team, especially first half. Even when the conditions worsened, I thought we played some really good attacking football and created opportunities. Of course we would have loved a few more points, but at least there was the performance to take into the weekend.”

With Shrewsbury and Wigan also up in March, the Saddlers will have to be on their game as both sides are chasing automatic promotion. It looks set to be a nervy run in at the Bescot Stadium.

The Verdict

Whitney seems to have come in for some criticism this season, but his Walsall side on their day can compete with the very best in this division. Right now they need to collect points against the teams around them, starting with Southend and Rochdale. With Bury, Wimbledon, Northampton and Fleetwood all set to line up against them before May, their fate is in their own hands. I fancy Walsall to stay in League One and hopefully the likeable manager can press on next season.

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