Hughes' positives in the cold snap

Mark Hughes has refused to be downbeat despite Walsall's enforced lay-off but admits he is frustrated with their lack of action.

The Saddlers skipper is desperate to play after seeing the last three games wiped out because of the big freeze.

Matches with Bristol Rovers, Norwich and Charlton have all been postponed due to frozen pitches.

But the Saddlers have remained 10th in League One and have two games in hand on some of their promotion rivals, leaving Hughes buoyant. He said: "The good thing is that we haven't moved in terms of our league position. We're still 10th and have a game or two in hand on a few teams, which is a bonus.

"The weather forecast for the rest of the week isn't great but hopefully the Southend game will go ahead on Saturday."

And the 23-year-old admits the squad have been primed and ready to go before the postponements. I know it's been said a million times but as a footballer you just want to play games," he said. "The Boxing Day game was called off on the morning of the game and we were all sat on the team coach ready to leave, then the two home games were called off pretty late too, so it has been frustrating.

"We've been preparing properly for the games and have been chomping at the bit ready to play and then they've been postponed. I know there's not much we can do about the weather but it's very frustrating."

Hughes also revealed the big freeze has hit training with the squad unable to use their Essington base because of the weather. "The training ground has been frozen solid this week," he said.

"It's meant we've changed things up a bit, which can sometimes be a good thing. Essington is great but, like most clubs up and down the country, we haven't been able to get out on the grass as often as we would have liked.

"We went swimming on Monday and then used the artificial surface and gym at the stadium yesterday. If things stay the same, that's what we may have to do on Thursday and Friday before travelling down to Southend on Friday afternoon."