Chris Hutchings relieved to keep job

Walsall boss Chris Hutchings has admitted he feels "thankful" to still be in a job after the Saddlers' disastrous season so far.

The manager has come under fire as the second-bottom Saddlers battle relegation from League One, but hailed chairman Jeff Bonser for his support.

Bonser has remained silent on the club's troubles despite calls for him to talk about the management duo he labelled his 'best ever.'

Both the manager and assistant Martin O'Connor have always insisted Bonser never puts them under undue pressure but, for the first time, Hutchings has admitted how precarious his position has been.

He said: "The chairman is a strong man and we are thankful to still be in the job, because things haven't gone so well for us.

"He knows we're working extremely hard off the pitch and the foundations of the club are being run right, not only on the football side of things but their side of things. It's run in the black.

"I've had massive support which you need at clubs. Not everyone can have good times.

"You are going to go through bad times."

A series of high-profile sackings in the Premier League highlighted the erratic nature of owners and Hutchings is pleased Bonser hasn't been as cavalier as some of his top-flight peers.

The manager said: "It's fickle at times, you look at Sam Allardyce and Chris Hughton and it's the nature of the game, unfortunately. Too many people get a little bit trigger-happy.

"The tenure is about 14 months in the Premier League which isn't long enough to try and establish something.

"In League Two it's about 11 months."

The Saddlers are due to go to relegation rivals Bristol Rovers – who sacked boss Paul Trollope last week – on Boxing Day depending on the weather and Hutchings believes dismissing managers isn't always the right decision.

He said: "People think change is a good thing but obviously it doesn't always work like that.

"You have to give people time to do what they want under the constraints they might be under."