Saddlers ethos was key for whizzkid

Walsall manager Jimmy Mullen believes the chance of a quick first-team breakthrough convinced teenage whizzkid Sean Geddes to stay the Banks’s Stadium.

The Saddlers beat off Premier League opposition to sign the precocious 16-year-old for the next three years.

And Mullen today hailed the role of youth bosses Mick Halsall and Bill Jones in getting the Great Barr-based youngster to the club to begin with.

“Over the years this club has built up a fantastic reputation for not only producing young players but for giving them a chance,” said Mullen.

“That is what we said to Sean and to his mum and dad. Sometimes kids can move on to Premier League clubs and then get forgotten about but they know that won’t happen here.

“The boy has done very well and this is where the work Mick Halsall and Bill Jones so comes to fruition.”

But Mullen believes Geddes must take one step at a time.

He said: “The next task for Sean is to get himself a regular place in the youth team and then hopefully push for a place in the reserves. If he does that the rest will take care of itself.”