Newly appointed Walsall manager Dean Keates has spoken to club journalists and admitted that he is keen to prove himself as he looks to guide the Saddlers further away from the relegation zone, insisting he will build a team that will represent the fans.
Dean, speaking via the club's official website - Saddlers.co.uk, said; "On the playing side, I’ve achieved what I’ve achieved and that chapter is closed. I’ve made the transition from a player to a coach and I’ll be judged on my managerial career now and not what I’ve done in the past.
"We’ll settle things down and look to get a few more points on the board, get through this season and start to make a big impression at this football club. I can’t promise the fans that it’ll be this, that and everything. The only thing I can guarantee is that the team will go out there and represent the fans and give everything for this football club."
Walsall-born Keates, who joined the club from National League title-chasers Wrexham after guiding the club to fourth in the league, recording just six defeats in thirty-seven league games, conceding a league-low twenty-eight goals will be hoping to enjoy similar success with the Saddlers despite the different style of play.
Dean continued; "I’ve come from a league where the standard of football is very different to this level. One week in the National League you’ll play against a team who go man for man all over the pitch.
"I don’t envisage that happening in League One - there’ll be a lot more football played. The team I built at Wrexham – it was a good honest team that worked hard. They played when they knew they could play, and when the game had to be mixed, they mixed it."