Walsall striker Troy Deeney has admitted he is embarrassed by his goalscoring record on the eve of his Saddlers century.

The striker should shake off an ankle injury to make his 100th appearance at Hartlepool tomorrow, having scored three goals in his last two games.

But the 21-year-old reckons the stats don’t make good reading, after 16 goals in his previous 99 appearances with 13 of those in 2009.

Deeney said: “My goal record is awful for 100 games, but it’s good to have almost played that amount. It has gone very fast, I played a lot in the first year under Richard Money out on the wing.

“Now I’m playing up front I can start getting the goals-to-game ratio better and try to make myself Walsall’s top scorer.

“I can’t do any more in terms of how I’ve come on in the last two years. I’ve come on in leaps and bounds, I think everyone can see that.

“I’ve got another two years left, so hopefully I’ll become even better.”

To improve his tally Deeney has targeted 20 goals this season, as he looks to build on last campaign’s haul of 12 when he finished joint top Saddlers scorer.

He said: “Every striker wants more goals and trying to get 20 will be nice.”

Deeney knows he will be targeted by defenders, as he starts to become one of the top hitmen in League One.

He added: “Once you’ve got that reputation it’s about keeping it.”