Walsall board vow to support boss

Chief executive Stefan Gamble has branded Walsall's season "unacceptable" but insisted boss Chris Hutchings still has the board's backing.

The CEO has broken the club's silence over the manager's future and maintained Hutchings is their man, despite the Saddlers being bottom of League One.

They go to Torquay in the second round of the FA Cup tomorrow aiming to find a spark to ignite their season.

Defeat would see Hutchings' position come under severe strain, but Gamble is adamant the board remain committed to the manager.

He said: "Chris has got our full support and we've shown that with investment.

"But the bottom line is results and they have got to improve, Chris will back that up and our position is unacceptable. We're frustrated and disappointed.

"It's devastatingly hard to see where we are in the league, no-one is more disappointed than the staff and board."

Gamble also explained the club's stance on the manager's future.

Fans have been calling for Hutchings' head but, until today, the Saddlers had remained quiet.

He said: "I don't believe in playing a manager's future out through the press.

"It wouldn't be productive for either side but at the moment we're all working hard."

The club have allowed Hutchings to bring in several loans, including Barnsley's Martin Devaney and Liam Dickinson, as they try to get out of trouble.

The duo's deals expire within the next two weeks and Gamble, who replaced the long-serving Roy Whalley in July, declared the board will continue to support Hutchings with cash.

He said: "We have backed the manager and allowed him to add to the squad.

"If he wants to extend the loans he can do that, there are options which are up to him and we will do everything we can to back him.

"The position we are in has not been acceptable but there are some chinks of light.

"We got beaten 3-0 at Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday but that 3-0 defeat and the 3-0 loss at Bournemouth were poles apart, although we are under no illusions there are tough times ahead.

"There isn't one thing you can put your finger on, but they are still the same management team who took us to our highest position in six years last season."