Smith leads support for under-fire Saddlers boss

Manny Smith today revealed Walsall's players are desperate for boss Chris Hutchings to stay after relieving the pressure on the under fire chief.

The defender dedicated last night's 0-0 draw at Leyton Orient to the manager as the Saddlers earned their first clean sheet in 22 games to stop a run of six straight defeats.

A point wasn't enough to escape League One's relegation zone as they slipped to 22nd in the table after a run which has piled the pressure on Hutchings.

But Smith insisted the whole squad support the boss and assistant Martin O'Connor and said they can turn the season around.

He said: "We want them to stay and we enjoy being around them. They have worked with us for a long time, they know what we're about and what we can achieve - they know what to expect from us.

"We do owe the gaffer and I owe him because of my contract. He's encouraged me and made me a better player. I owe it to him and really want him to stay. They did a great job last year and we haven't started so well this year but you can say that point was for them."

The defender also admitted the manager was right to slam his defenders as a "joke" following Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Hartlepool and insisted they responded perfectly last night.

He said: "He had the right to say it because we're his team, he puts us on the pitch. We work hard in training and for us to give away silly goals is disrespectful to him because he's worked well with us and we needed to pay him back."

And the 22-year-old is now eyeing Saturday's visit of Yeovil as the Saddlers aim to build on a morale-boosting point.

He said: "This is the platform now, if we go into the game on Saturday and lose then last night was a waste of time. The boys worked well from front to back and there is no point in losing or conceding on Saturday.

"We haven't had a point in ages and spirits are up now."