Walsall boss upbeat with Wolves loss

Walsall boss Chris Hutchings declared himself happy with his team's workout and insists defeat to Wolves will help the Saddlers in the long run.

The manager watched on as his men were thumped 4-0 by an impressive Wolves outfit at the Banks's Stadium last night.

Before the clash Hutchings had placed little importance on the result and reckons facing an in-form Premier League team will prove vital in the upcoming League One campaign.]

He said: "It was a tough work out and that's what we wanted.

"We've got Coventry and Villa coming up and we want to put ourselves under the cosh, to see how we react and how we deal with things to stop these teams playing, because that will happen during the course of the season.

"In the season we will have to change at half-time and during a game and people have to know their jobs. Wolves were very good, the goals weren't the best from our point of view but we have to learn and there were no points at stake.

"We've got a few new players and have to learn. We'll look at the DVD and see what we can come up with."

Hutchings gave a run-out to almost all his squad, but didn't include Julian Gray who is still playing catch up after re-signing for the club late.

And the manager knows his team faced a top-flight side who demonstrated their ruthless nature.

He said: "Wolves are a Premier League side, Fulham beat Brentford the other week 5-0 and it probably showed, as it did with us tonight. Quality normally shines through.

"It's about getting match fitness, they looked fitter and sharper and had the quality to go with it."