Match Reaction: Keates Keen to Remain Positive Despite Defeat

Walsall manager Dean Keates has spoken to the press following Tuesday evening's pre-season defeat to Aston Villa and insisted that he was pleased with the level of performance as his side continue to prepare for the upcoming League One campaign.

The manager, who saw his side defeated by four-goals-to-one thanks to a Conor Hourihane hat-trick and a Glenn Whelan solo strike, was keen to take the positives out of the display and sought to praise his young players as they gained more all-important match minutes with the season opener edging ever closer.

Dean, who has seen his side defeated in all three of their pre-season matches, said; "It was a very good work out for us. We were playing against some very good players and you know that you aren’t going to get the ball for long spells of the game but it was all about getting the shape right in this one.

"At the weekend there were too many gaps at times but I was a lot more pleased with how we played and our shape. Of course I was disappointed with the result but I was pleased with the areas we got in. The pleasing thing for us is that there was an improvement from the weekend against Stoke City and it was all about working on our shape as a group and moving forward and I thought we did that.

"It’s a very young squad, a lot of them are in their developmental stage. We finished with two 17-year-old’s on the pitch and we started with a couple of 18-year-old’s and I thought they did well but all being well we can add a bit more quality and experience to the group."