Stefan Gamble's call to Walsall fans

Stefan Gamble has pledged to re-engage with Walsall's lost fans after becoming the club's new chief executive.

The 35-year-old takes over from Roy Whalley after stepping up from financial director and immediately declared his intentions to woo supporters back.

Relations between the club and a section of their support have been strained and came to a head at the end of last season, when fans demonstrated against chairman Jeff Bonser.

But the appointment of Gamble, along with the promotion of Dan Mole to club secretary, signals a fresh start.

The Saddlers are keen for fans to return to the Banks's Stadium and Gamble lists the needs of supporters as his top priority.

He said: "It's top of the list. We have to engage our supporter base and that is one of the things we will address from the outset. If we can get them back it doesn't guarantee us a better season, but it certainly helps.

"We're looking at opening up increased lines of communication with the supporter,s because they have a voice and what they say is very important and we need to listen to that.

"We need to be able to implement suggestions and ideas coming from those supporters to make the match-day experience something everyone looks forward to.

"We're setting up a relationship with the Walsall Supporters' Trust and these relationships have to develop in the coming months and years.

"It's important to engage with the fans."

The Saddlers had the second lowest average attendance in League One with 4,028 last season and Gamble knows a packed stadium would boost spending power and give the team an edge.

He said: "We can certainly survive but we don't want to just survive, we want to push on and improve.

"In the last 10 years we've had four seasons in the Championship and that's where we'd love to be.

"To do that we've obviously got to improve in a lot of areas. The most important thing to the club are its supporters. We've had dwindling attendances in the last 12 months and we've got to try to address that.

"Sometimes people have said the communication isn't the best, we want to improve that and we can do that with modern technology like Facebook and Twitter.

"That's the first step on the road to increasing the supporter base."

But Gamble knows success on the pitch will also help entice the fans back.

He said: "It's not like any other business you'll ever work in. It's a challenge and it's a vicious circle but all we can do is tick a lot of the boxes.

"One thing fuels the other and we have got to do our best."

Gamble takes over from Whalley, who remains at the club as commercial director, and knows he couldn't wish for a better mentor.

Whalley has been with the Saddlers since 1986 and Gamble admits he casts a big shadow.

He said: "They are big shoes to fill and if I can achieve half of what Roy has I will have done well.

"I want to bring fresh ideas and new energy to build on. He has set great foundations in the last 20 years, I'm stepping in to a role where there's a lot of established principles and activities we can only enhance and improve on.

"It's been built up over the last 20 years through Roy and his role. It's also an opportunity to bring some new energy to the club, some fresh ideas and try to push the club forward.

"It's 2010, we've got to move with the times and it's an exciting challenge. This is the biggest role I've undertaken without a doubt.

"I think I've got a good understanding of the inner workings of the club and football, I've been here for eight years and on the board for three.

"I talk to a lot of other people in my position and understand their woes and the pros and cons across the board. It is a new role and big step up but one I feel I'm ready for.

"I've got the background and experience to hit the ground running."

Gamble joined the Saddlers from accountants BDO Stoy Hayward in 2002 and was appointed financial director in 2007, with the club having spent the last two years building up to today's changeover.

But even though his eight years are eclipsed by Whalley's 24, Gamble is adamant the club have moved forward in his comparatively short time at the Banks's Stadium.

He said: "I came in at a difficult time - the year ITV Digital collapsed. The club had 15 years of profit before that, then we had three years of losses.

"It was a difficult time, not just for us but for every club. But we traded our way out of it and have had four years of profit since.

"I get the impression a lot of clubs are quite envious of what we have here. I know the facilities will rival a lot of clubs - there is a real good base and a sound footing to really push this club on.

"A lot of clubs sit there and wait for it to come to them but we have always been proactive to exploit every opportunity. You've got to be proactive.

"We've got a big site here and we'll never be short of ideas."