Troy Deeney knows the magnitude of Walsall’s task in League One and insists they have to fix their poor home form to succeed.

The Saddlers have been priced at 14/1 to win promotion, behind newcomers Brentford and Wycombe, while heavyweights Leeds, Norwich and Charlton are early title favourites.

And striker Deeney, who is due to become a father in two weeks, believes the secret to success lies at the Banks’s Stadium.

In the last two seasons the Saddlers have won just 17 of their 46 home League games and Deeney knows they need to find a cure.

He said: “You can’t really say any reason why we underperformed. Maybe the boys could have expressed themselves better because at home they were a bit shy, so we need to pick it up and make the Banks’s a bit of a fortress. We’ll be better off next year.

“Last season we just weren’t picking up points when we should have been but away from home, in the last couple of seasons, we’ve done fairly well.

“The season is going to be harder again with the likes of Charlton coming down, and the boys are all looking forward to the task in hand.”