Walsall's Stuart Sinclair to take positives from 2019/20 season

The Saddlers had a mixed first season back in League Two, eventually finishing 12th and in the top half of the table.

The second half of that campaign saw Darrell Clarke’s team improve – going five unbeaten before football was suspended – and Sinclair intends to take that momentum into 2020/21.

“Like the gaffer said when he first came and when he spoke to me, it was always going to be a matter of building and progressing,” he said.

“It was such a new side and a new start, and a new side.

“There’s lots of positives to take from this season and the negatives are things we can work on and hopefully put right in the forthcoming season.

“It’s been a positive season and it’s just a shame it ended when it did.

“We beat Exeter 3-1 in our last game in front of an amazing crowd, it felt like the club had the feeling of starting to motor and move in the right direction.

“Hopefully we can carry that on when the new season comes.”

The 2019/20 season was Sinclair’s first in a Walsall shirt and looking back on it the 32-year-old is eager to improve.

“I’m fairly happy, but I get so wrapped up in moving forwards that I don’t tend to look back,” he added.

“I’m quite ruthless in my approach and I never think I’ve played well enough.

“The way I became a footballer was by being a little bit too critical and really trying to push myself every single time. Maybe I wasn’t as talented as other footballers.

“I’d probably be a little bit self-critical and think that there are things I could have done better – I would like to do better. I also look at it as a team and we want to be pushing and stepping forwards, but I think I’ve done OK.”