Jon Guthrie Confident Walsall Will Avoid Basement Battle Next Season

Walsall defender Jon Guthrie has spoken to the press and insisted that the club has a bright future under manager Dean Keates, the former Crewe Alexandra man, who played every minute of first-team football during his debut season at Banks's Stadium, praised Keates for the improvement he has achieved since returning to his boyhood club.

25-year-old Guthrie, who made fifty-two first-team appearances last season, insisted that the Saddlers are capable of battling much higher up the table, and went on to praise manager Dean Keates for improving the backline soon after returning to the club, where he replaced Jon Whitney.

Speaking via the Express & Star, Jon said; "Definitely. I think you can see, particularly in the defence, the improvement. We were a lot more solid. We know we didn’t keep enough clean sheets throughout the season. But we worked hard on a lot of different things. There were positive signs. And they are things we can take into the new season.

"The season has been a learning curve for a lot of players and we are confident we will do better next year. Nobody enjoys being in the position we have been in. For a lot of the lads, it was their first time in a relegation scrap. We have all learnt from it. And next season we want to be looking up the table rather than down."