Dean Smith's link with Latin star

Walsall manager Dean Smith is going back to school to harness his South American ace.

The Saddlers boss is raiding the phrasebook and calling on his schoolboy knowledge to connect with Latin wildcard Emmanuel Ledesma.

The 22-year-old was born in Quilmes - a province of Buenos Aires - and speaks little English despite a six-month loan spell with QPR three years ago.

But it mattered little on his debut - Tuesday's 1-0 win over Southampton - where he impressed after signing on a free from Genoa last week.

And the Argentinian is set to be unleashed again in tomorrow's crucial relegation dogfight at Swindon as the Saddlers look to move six points clear of the drop zone.

The universal language of football has helped Ledesma talk to his team-mates but Smith revealed he already has a grasp of the Spanish lingo.

He joked: "Un poco, 'a little.' He's got pigeon English but fortunately I've got an O-level in Spanish - I think it was a B - so I can get by. We have a little bit of conversation but only a little.

"The phrasebook has come out already when I'm having a chat with him, luckily my little boy's best friend is fluent in Spanish so after the game on Tuesday he had a little chat with him for me.

"We get by, no problem. I certainly didn't expect to be digging out the O-level but when I took over I didn't expect to be signing an Argentinian player.

"If these players are available, though, and they are good enough for us then we'll take them."

Ledesma lined up just behind Jon Macken in a 4-4-1-1 formation in midweek and won a physical battle with Saints' powerhouse defender Radhi Jaidi.

The Saddlers' win lifted them out of the League One drop zone for the first time since October and Smith believes his silky star can handle the physical nature of a relegation scrap.

He said: "He worked very hard, one of the pleasing things was when the ball went up there it stuck with him.

"His ball retention was good and even when he had a couple of players around him he showed strength. He knows how to use his body in terms of keeping players away from him. He's not the biggest but knows how to use his body as that's from his culture.

"He's done really well in training and I know what the kid's about. He's got great ability, I just thought for the game he'd be a bit of a surprise element for us as they wouldn't know much about him.

"I knew Southampton were a good footballing team and had good players but felt he could do well for us. The partnership between him and Macken worked well.

"If you see him in training, all he wants to do is score goals."

Ledesma will lead the line with Macken at the County Ground tomorrow, as the Saddlers look to wreck new manager Paul Hart's Swindon debut.