McDonald is loving it at the Banks's
Walsall defender Clayton McDonald is out to prove the doom mongers wrong – and maybe save Manchester City Mark Hughes a few quid along the way.
Fresh from Man of the Match performances in his first two games against Bury and Norwich, it's fair to say the City loanee has taken to life at Walsall.
It's a world away from the billions at Eastlands, the £120million spent by boss Hughes in the summer which would run the Saddlers for decades.
With their riches they can buy anyone in the world – unless you're John Terry or Kaka – and it wouldn't be a surprise to see the youth team conveyer belt dry up for the next few seasons.
After all, why nurture when you can go for the quick fix?
Defender McDonald has taken a leap out of the comfort zone for just this reason.
Essington is not Carrington and the Banks's Stadium is a million miles away from Eastlands but the confident youngster isn't afraid of hard graft. The high-profile arrivals of Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure mean his first team chances under Hughes are distinctly limited – at least for this season.
But City's youth system has produced Stephen Ireland, Michael Johnson and Nedum Onuoha and the 21-year-old believes he can follow in their footsteps, eventually.
The club won the FA Youth Cup in 2008, beating Chelsea 4-2, to prove the depth of their ability and McDonald insists he will not be part of a lost generation.
He said: "There's plenty of talent coming through the ranks. There are some great players in my age group – that's why you have to go out on loan to make people look at you and see what you can do.
"Going away and playing gives you an incentive to be part of it at City. I believe in my own ability and if I get a chance there then I believe I will take it.
"But I'm not coming here just for myself, I'm here to win games for Walsall. I'm worrying about Walsall because I'm here for a month.
"I'm going give it 200 per cent to hopefully get the loan move extended."
The 6ft 7ins giant initially signed on a month's loan last week but his early performances may convince boss Chris Hutchings to extend it sooner rather than later.
And it's also a case of emulating dad Rod.
McDonald senior made 178 appearances for the Saddlers, scoring 46 goals, between 1990 and 1994 and became a cult hero thanks to his all-action striking displays.
Anything similar from McDonald junior would help the Saddlers reignite their season and he's here to oblige, for himself and the club.
The young defender said: "My dad is a legend here, so if I can do half as good then I would have done well."
