Dean Smith has high hopes for Walsall FC
Saturday 28th May 2011, 11:29AM BST.
Boss Dean Smith today insisted Walsall’s Great Escape will prove key in his rebuilding of the Saddlers.
The boss believes the stunning survival act will prove to his targets they are a team on the up. He is keen to tie up early deals – and wants a near-complete squad by the time the Saddlers go to Scotland at the start of July.
He said: “Players will want to come and play for the club. They have seen we’re on an upward curve and I’m sure they’ll want to be part of it. It’s a massive selling point for us that we finished off the season so well.”
Smith is hopeful No.2 Jon Whitney and coach Chris Nicholl will stay next season. He has held discussions with the pair and will not be adding his coaching staff if they commit to Walsall.
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
Saddlers Blog
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.

Snap up Kevin Phillips now he’s a free agent!
Report abuse