Andy Butler wants to stay at Walsall

Walsall captain Andy Butler has admitted he would love to stay at the club – but insisted any deal must be right.

The skipper, who is out of contract in June, has handed the Saddlers a huge boost ahead of 'Survival Saturday' by revealing his willingness to talk terms.

Fans mobbed the defender after Saturday's 2-0 win over Charlton and want the Saddlers to pull out all the stops to keep the 27-year-old.

Butler will lead the Saddlers out at a Southampton side who clinched automatic promotion yesterday with Walsall on the brink of clinching League One survival wanting to stay – but admitted he must consider his young family.

He said: "I would love to stay but we will have to see what happens, we just don't know.

"I have really enjoyed my time here – things have come a long way from when I started out in November.

"But I've got to see what's best for myself and my family.

"I know it sounds a bit selfish but that's what it's got to be because they come first."

Butler is in the running to be Saddlers' Player of the Season after signing on a free from Huddersfield in November.

The captain has been a major part of the team's revival under boss Dean Smith and they are odds on to stay in League One ahead of the final day showdown at St Mary's.

The League One landscape changed slightly yesterday with Plymouth's relegation confirmed following their 3-1 home defeat to Southampton, which sealed Saints' passage back to the Championship and means they will host the Saddlers with nothing to play for.

Walsall are a point ahead of fourth-bottom Dagenham & Redbridge, who go to Peterborough, with the Daggers needing to better the Saddlers' result to survive.

But 19th-placed Notts County, who are a point ahead of the Saddlers and host champions Brighton, could still be relegated if Walsall and Dagenham both win.

Whatever happens, Butler feels he owes Walsall for reviving his career following his release from Huddersfield.

He said: "I feel I owe the guys here for bringing me in.

"I was looking at my stats the other day and this is one of the best runs I've had in any season."