Gills clash is must-win for Deeney

Troy Deeney today branded tomorrow's clash at Gillingham a "must win" as Walsall look to avoid being dragged into a relegation dogfight.

The Saddlers go to Priestfield 12th in League One but winless in their last five games and just five points above the relegation zone.

Gillingham could move level with the Saddlers on 31 points should they win and Deeney knows they cannot afford to let that happen.

He said: "This has turned in to a must win, we've got to get three points otherwise we're going to start looking down the table rather than up it.

"We've got three or four games on most people but we've got to win those games. We'd rather swap the games for points.

"We said against Brighton that was the start of our season and we had to push on. But we've lost both games since and we can't get into a rut of losing because it's hard to get out of it."

The game marks the start of nine games in 29 days for the Saddlers, with promotion chasing Charlton visiting the Banks's Stadium on Tuesday.

And nine-goal joint top scorer Deeney says it's imperative to claim a result tomorrow to ensure they keep away from danger.

"Even if it's just a draw, we've got to get on another run now," said the 21-year-old. "If everyone wants to progress that's what we have to do. Everyone talks about wanting to get into the play-offs but this is how you do it, by beating the teams around you."

The 2-1 defeat to Norwich on Tuesday was the Saddlers' fourth in five games, despite their impressive performance, which Deeney says they must build on.

He said: "There's no good doing it in the big games, we have to do it every week and Gillingham, with due respect to them, are not a Norwich. Their fanbase isn't as big but we've still got to turn up and do the same job."

Meanwhile, boss Chris Hutchings says he is yet to make his move in the transfer window, which closes on Monday, but is in no rush.

He said: "There's a week's grace and then we can get players in on loan, it's not the end of the season for us if we don't get anyone in."