Walsall manager Chris Hutchings admits he will resist the temptation to blood his young guns if it means a top-10 finish.

The Saddlers could leapfrog Saturday’s visitors Oldham into 10th if they win the League One finale.

Boss Hutchings will stand firm on calls to play new professionals Will Grigg, Sam Adkins and Darryl Westlake if it means sealing a morale-boosting top-10 finish.

He said: “We want to win the game and it’s easy for people to say we should blood people. One or two have had little outings, but whether I do that on Saturday remains to be seen.

“It’s nice we’ve got the young boys coming through and pushing for places for next season.”

The manager is still hopeful Michael Ricketts and Jabo Ibehre could feature, despite the duo struggling with respective Achilles and hamstring injuries.

He said: “Michael has still got a problem with his Achilles and Jabo with his hamstring, but we are going to leave it as late as possible to see if there is any chance for them to be available for Saturday.

“It’s probably a bit doubtful at the moment. You get down to the last game and you always want to play, your heart can rule your head in some respects, but we’ve got to make sure they don’t do any lasting damage.”

But, whoever features, Hutchings wants to give the home fans a decent send off ahead of the summer break.

He said: “We know we can do it. It’s a matter of giving our home supporters something to cheer about and look forward to for the following season.”