Skipper's backing for Saddlers boss

Richard Taundry today said the players were desperate for Chris Hutchings to keep his job.

The stand-in-skipper is the first player to acknowledge the grave situation and knows only victories will keep the manager in charge.

The boss is under extreme pressure after the Saddlers sunk to the bottom of League One following just one win in the last 14 games in all competitions.

A 1-1 FA Cup draw with Blue Square Premier outfit Fleetwood did little to ease the woes ahead of a trip to play-off contenders Bournemouth on Saturday.

And Taundry, recently handed the captaincy by Hutchings, conceded the players must start winning to keep him in a job.

He said: "Football's a cruel game. He is in a tough spot and everyone looks at the manager at times like this. It's very difficult for him and it's up to us now to knuckle down and try to help him out.

"It's a big deal for the gaffer, he's worked his fingers to the bone to get everything right so we've all got to stick together and help him out."

The Saddlers are five points from safety ahead of the Dean Court showdown having won just three times in the league this season.

They haven't won away since the second weekend of the campaign but Taundry said: "It's little tweaks all over the place, not just certain individuals but all of us collectively need to sort things out." said the 21-year-old.

"Everyone is going to make errors during games, it's just where those errors are made. We need to put them right and work as a team. That will make it better for all of us."