Meet the Saddlers eyes and ears

David Hamilton works for Walsall as the Saddlers' eyes and ears in the north but knows all his efforts will eventually benefit others.

The chief scout sits at his desk in Essington musing about the state of football as a former battled hardened midfielder whose career took him to Sunderland, Blackburn and Wigan. Football was never about money for him.

But despite his softy spoken persona there is a sharp edge to this South Shields-born employee

There has to be. Charged with not only finding the opposition's weakness but unearthing the gems to propel the Saddlers forward, his job is made all the more difficult thanks to those money men.

Walsall are somewhere around the bottom of the food chain meaning Hamilton's work is key in finding the next big thing on the cheap but even then the battle doesn't stop.

The 49-year-old scouts someone, they join and eventually they leave - it's a constant cycle.

He said: "Championship clubs will look at Walsall to see what they've got, that's the way the world is and it's very frustrating.

"The players who have come in have done well, you don't want to lose the likes of Anthony Gerrard but football has to balance its books and that's the frustrating thing. The bigger clubs can buy.

"When I was at Wigan we wanted to build a team but never get a chance because the bigger clubs always came along, Walsall are the same.

"You're trying to get a bit of continuity and stability, if someone comes in with £200,000 for a player you don't want to stop them and if it's right for the club that's the way it is.

"Walsall is a very well run club, like Blackburn and Wigan when I played for them. They won't exceed their limits."

Which is why Hamilton has to be ahead of the game, spending four hours compiling each scouting report – work which goes unnoticed by those outside Essington.

In the summer he will join boss Chris Hutchings – who he first teamed up with at Wigan – to make a pilgrimage to the PFA offices in Manchester to go over the hundreds of out-of-contract players.

Rich pickings for the budget conscious Saddlers and Hamilton is already compiling a list of targets for his boss – even if they could be out of reach.

He said: "I went to watch Tranmere play Leeds last week and I'm thinking 'which players, if Leeds go up, don't they need?'

"Some might be on more money than we can afford which is a headache. You want to give them what they want but they don't want to come down too much, so sometimes it's out of the ball park. You have to be realistic.

"Look at the teams above us, all their budgets are bigger but they won't be any more professional. We're doing very well and punching above our weight."

Hunting other team's cast offs is a far cry from bringing Antonio Valencia to Wigan or propelling Jimmy Bullard into the national spotlight after snatching him from Peterborough.

Hamilton, who has a UEFA A coaching badge, was the Latics' first ever chief scout and has worked with Walsall boss Hutchings since 2002.

Their success at Wigan was countered by disappointment at Derby but Blackburn-based Hamilton insists now Hutchings has a project of his own – not succeeding Paul Jewell – there will be success.

The Saddlers' season is all but over with the club 13th in League One and Hamilton understands fans' frustrations but assures them the club is progressing.

He said: "Chris found his way here and it was an opportunity for him. He got it himself, not taking over from Paul.

"The club is in very safe hands. The fans want instant success. They pay their money and I'm not going to have a go at fans, because they are the lifeblood.

"They want to see progression and every fan wants to be in the top six or seven but we have to be realistic.

"If someone says we'll finish where we are that's steady progression and that's what you're trying to achieve.

"Decisions will be made but all will be for the best for the club, that's the way it is."