Walsall manager Jon Whitney has spoken to the press following Saturday's three-nil victory over Southend United, and has praised the Saddlers' backline as they stood firm to deny their in-form opponents, securing an all-too rare clean sheet.
The manager, who was speaking via the Express & Star, said; "We had been giving away too many cheap goals but I thought the back four were really good at Southend. We have worked a lot on the training ground to stop crosses getting into our box. And that was crucial on Saturday because Southend had players who are capable of putting in some dangerous deliveries.
"They put you under a lot of pressure. But even though we lost against Peterborough and Blackburn, we took confidence from those performances. Southend created very little. In the second half we restricted them to next to nothing and that is very pleasing.
"As a manager, getting clean sheets is what I love. Not many teams go to Roots Hall to win. To win 3-0 was great but I would have taken a one-nil. It was Erhun’s first career hat-trick. But overall it was a great team performance."