Later today, Walsall Football Club will travel to Greenhous Meadow to take on near-rivals Shrewsbury Town in the latest Sky Bet League 1 fixture of the season.
Ahead of the match, Walsall's caretaker manager John Ward has spoken to club journalists and insisted that the team must focus on the task in hand, and make sure to build on last weekend's victory over Bradford City.
Speaking via Saddlers.co.uk; “It was a long day yesterday. Dean and Richard obviously moved on but we’ve spoken to players and the Chairman has spoken to them as well and we all have a job to do.
“We took training yesterday in preparation of tonight’s game and it was a really bright session. The player’s were at it and their response has been first class but it’s nothing less than I’d expect from them.
“We’ll meet up with them today, which will give us another opportunity to prepare and go through a few things before tonight’s game.
“I’m relying on Jon and Neil because they’ve been involved with the first team more than I have. But it’s important that we stick together as a group and we look forward to the next game.
“As it is I was watching Shrewsbury at the weekend so we know what to expect from them. I saw them beat Colchester 4-2 after being 0-2 behind at half time. They then went to Sheffield United and won by four goals and held Gillingham on Saturday in what was a very good game.
“We’ve had them watched a few times before as well so we’ve been as thorough as we can be in our build up. They’ll be confident going into the game but we’re excited by the challenge.
“The players have responded brilliantly so far and the most important bit is that they’re focused on the match, which they are. We know it’s going to be another tough test but we’re looking for a positive result as we did against Bradford. We have to take confidence from our performances and try to win the game.”
SOURCE | WALSALL FOOTBALL CLUB