Dean Smith is anxious to ease pressure

Boss Dean Smith today moved to take the relegation heat off his Walsall fighters and insisted they 'focus on the job'.

The Saddlers could escape the League One drop zone for the first time in four months tomorrow if they beat Rochdale and Swindon fail to win at Southampton.

Plymouth's 10-point deduction for calling in the administrators boosted the Saddlers' survival hopes and moved them up to fourth-from-bottom.

But Smith said they must ignore the pressure.

"If we start talking about being in the bottom four it starts playing on people's minds and I don't want that to happen," he said. "I want them to take each game, try to win it and take the three points.

"I don't talk to the lads about getting out of the bottom four — for me it's all about winning a football match. It's three points and let's see where it takes us.

"They can all look at the league tables. I'm sure they were all looking, once Plymouth were deducted 10 points, to see where we were so they need no reminders from me. I want them to concentrate on the game and go all out to get the three points."