Walsall not safe warns Hutchings

Chris Hutchings has warned Walsall are not safe from the drop and is still troubled by the fear of relegation.

The Saddlers are set for a final League One push with 13 games left following this afternoon's trip to Southampton.

But despite sitting ninth and 11 points above the bottom four Hutchings says the Saddlers must be wary of being dragged down.

"Other people might feel you're safe but you never feel it yourself," he said.

"When the captions come up and you're in that top half you always look up and if you're in the bottom half you're looking back at the teams who can catch you.

"When you're in the top you look at other teams and say 'if we get a win there and a win there we can be right on their tails', you have to look forward when you're up there."

The play-offs are a faint hope for the Saddlers, who they lie 14 points off League One's top six, but Hutchings wants better than last season's 13th placed finish – even if it would leave him disappointed.

"We want to finish higher than we did last year and in terms of progress that would be progress," he said.

"It's not what everyone would want or be satisfied with but it would be progress."