Walsall manager Dean Smith has spoken to the press following the Saddlers' Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final defeat to Bristol City, and has discussed the fitness levels of some of the team's starting XI, admitting we probably weren't at our energetic best.
Speaking to the Express & Star, Smith said; “The players are off today and will probably be back in tomorrow for a debrief to get the whole Wembley fever out of their system.
“I was disappointed – we didn’t really perform to anywhere near our usual level. Maybe it was a bit of nerves, I don’t know. It could have been the occasion.
“We’re normally very good on the ball but yesterday our use of the ball wasn’t quite good enough and sometimes that happens.
“They’re young lads who haven’t been involved in that sort of occasion or playing in front of a crowd of more than 72,000 before. Bristol City handled it a lot better than we did.
“Tom Bradshaw looked like he hadn’t trained for a week or two. We’ve had a couple of players who were coming back from injury.
“Cook, Anthony Forde and James Chambers had all been injured in recent weeks, so we probably weren’t at our energetic best by any stretch of the imagination.
“Our use of the ball wasn’t as good as theirs and because of that, we lost.
“It’s too early to say whether there are any regrets – I’m sure the lads will analyse their own performances and some of them will be disappointed.
“We didn’t get started for 10 to 15 minutes and when we did, our final ball wasn’t as good as it should have been.
“We always knew that height would be a factor and they’re a big, strong team.”