Walsall winger Matt Richards believes it is only a “matter of time” until the Saddlers break into the play-offs.

They fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Leyton Orient on Saturday thanks to two second-half goals from Troy Deeney.

After the comeback, winger Richards reckons the Saddlers can close the three point gap to the top six and stay there.

He said: “With the quality we’ve got in the squad we can do it, it’s only a matter of time until we do. In terms of league position we’ve been there or there abouts and we can go on another run to break into the top six.

“We’ve been unfortunate but we definitely should be higher than we are.  A couple of little things have gone against us, like hitting the post or the bar. We’re still right in the thick of it.

“It’s only three points so with two wins you could be right there.”

The Saddlers stayed 10th in the table following the Banks’s Stadium draw to arrest a run of two straight defeats ahead of a testing Christmas programme.

They go to Bristol Rovers on Boxing Day before hosting Norwich 48 hours later and welcome Charlton on January 2.

With three games against their play-offs rivals, Richards knows the league will have a realistic look come January.

He said: “They are good teams but we’re confident we can perform with the best. Everyone is confident we can get something out of the games. We’ve performed against them in the past so don’t see why we can’t.

Pla“After Christmas you have an idea how things will be but it’s not the end of it. There are a lot of games to play and we’ll be fighting until the end of the season. Everyone is confident we can achieve something.”