Walsall have slashed their Early Bird season ticket prices for next year.

Supporters who snap up tickets will benefit from seven free games, when compared to match-day prices for the 2009-10 campaign.

The scheme runs from Monday until Tuesday, March 31, during a month which will shape the 12th-placed Saddlers’ season. They host Yeovil Town on Saturday before seven games in 25 days as they try to keep their faint League One play-off hopes alive.

Chief executive Roy Whalley believes the effect of management duo Chris Hutchings and Martin O’Connor since they have been at the Banks’s Stadium will help boost sales.

“Supporters have been delighted with the appointment of Chris and Martin and they’ve seen the improvement with their own eyes, in terms of performances and results,” said Whalley.

“Everyone can see Martin’s passion on the touchline. They see how much it means to him. I think there’s a new mood of optimism around the stadium and among supporters. There’s much more positivity.”

Whalley also believes the reduction will help fans during the credit crunch.

“In the current financial climate we feel the best course of action is to lower the price,” he said.

“People have to make a choice about how they spend their money, so what we’ve tried to do is put together a package which will appeal.”

A family ticket in the West Bromwich Building Society Stand is now £325 compared to £339 last season, working out at around £14 per game for an adult and junior.

In the Floors-2-Go Lower Tier, an adult Early Bird season ticket is £215 – less than £10 per game and down from £219 – while a junior at £110 is just £5 a game. Early Bird holders will receive free admission to the season’s first home cup game.

The club’s Mini-Saddlers Scheme will also apply to children under eight, allowing them to receive a free 2009-10 season-ticket when accompanied by a full-paying adult holder.