Young Walsall defender Netan Sansara has revealed a heart-to-heart with boss Chris Hutchings restored his confidence and has urged the manager to keep faith in him.

The left-back made his first appearance of the season in the 2-1 defeat at Colchester on Saturday, after Jamie Vincent pulled his calf in the warm-up.

It ended a frustrating time on the sidelines for Sansara, who had been kept out by Vincent’s form.

The 20-year-old said: “I went to see the manager a couple of weeks ago, he told me to bide my time and that I had been unlucky.

“I thought I’d been doing well in the reserves and I feel I’m too good for the reserves. The first team is the test, it’s where I’m going to get better as a player and on Saturday I showed the fans and the manager I can do a job.

“He put his trust in me in pre-season and I got injured, which happens in football. I got on with it, got my head down, came back fitter and stronger and hopefully now I can help push us up the table.”

Sansara got the call to play just minutes before the game and believes he took his chance, despite defeat.

The left-back joked: “He could have given me a bit more notice. I’ve been waiting so long for this opportunity. I was warming up and got the call. There were a few nerves but I thought I did alright.

“Now I’ve got to kick on.”