Keates, who has seen his side slip from a season-opening battle towards the top of the table to fighting for their lives, sitting just two points above the relegation zone having suffered five defeats on the bounce.
Speaking to BBC WM Sport reporter Tom Marlow, Keates admitted that the team's overall display was nowhere near the standard required, before going on to praise goalkeeper Liam Roberts, who produced a series of fine saves to prevent the Saddlers from falling further behind.
The manager said; "Five defeats on the bounce, it’s nowhere near good enough in the predicament we’re in. There’s only one player that could come off with credit [in the] Walsall team today, and that was Liam Roberts."
Dean then went on to discuss the changes he had made for the match, admitting that many of the newly selected players failed to perform, despite asking for a chance to show what they can do.
Keates continued; "You got players knocking on your door, asking “will I get an opportunity, when can I play”, you give them the opportunity and they’re not performing. That’s as a group, let’s not try to paper over anything. We’re in horrendous form, the club needs to stabilise.
"We need to find something, we need to find a result to build on. There’s thirty-nine points to play for, before we know it they’ll only be thirty-six, so something has to be done for next week."