Poor Banks's pitch no excuse for boss

Walsall boss Chris Hutchings has warned his players they cannot use the Banks's Stadium's poor pitch as an excuse for failure.

Having succumbed to a 5-1 thrashing on Southampton's sumptuous St Mary's surface last weekend, the Saddlers return home tomorrow for the visit of play-off chasing Millwall.

Hutchings admits his team have been hampered by the state of their home pitch but insists it is the same for both teams and has urged his team to 'work at it.'

He said: "Obviously the pitch hasn't helped matters the way that it is at this moment in time. We played at Southampton last week and it was absolutely fantastic, like a bowling green. It's difficult to play football on it but it's the same for both sides and we have to work hard at it.

"I think when we have back-to-back games that takes its toll, especially with it being cut up and having the sand on it. We try to play at a high tempo and obviously with the fixtures we've had over this last month it's been difficult to maintain.

"We've had a little bit of a refresher so let's see how we do. Millwall are trying to get in that play-off position so we know it's going to be a tough task. We have just got to make sure we have a big improvement on Saturday."

Hutchings insists a play-off place remains within their reach despite the current 15-point gap between them and sixth.

He said: "It's going to be tough to get up there. Milton Keynes have been trying to do that, Milwall are looking to establish themselves up there and Bristol Rovers have had a couple of results of late so that's what we've got to be chasing.

"We haven't shown any consistency this season – apart from when we've had a few draws that show consistency but didn't propel us up the league when we wanted it."