Andy Butler to keep Walsall captaincy

Walsall boss Dean Smith has confirmed Andy Butler will keep the captaincy and hailed his skipper as a 'leader.'

The defender took the armband late last year and, despite the return of fit-again Darren Byfield, has been charged with leading the Saddlers away from danger.

Butler will take his troops to Yeovil tomorrow as the fourth-bottom Saddlers bid to escape the drop zone and plunge the 19th placed Glovers deeper into relegation trouble.

And boss Smith insisted Butler is his man for the fight and he will take the armband for the final 10 games ahead of club captain Byfield.

He said: "I don't see it changing, Andy is a natural leader. He's done really well, he wears his heart on his sleeve and has been a big character.

"I've always liked captains being centre-halves. I might be a bit biased being one myself but you can see the whole picture.

"He leads by example, he'll put his head in, he's got a big heart and the fans relate to him. He's worked really hard.

"We mustn't forget he was thrown into his first game at Bournemouth in November without a pre-season and he's adapted fantastically and has got better each week."

Butler was without a club when he came to the Banks's Stadium, after being released by Huddersfield, but has gone on to be confirmed as the Saddlers' permanent skipper within his first four months at the club.

He said: "It's a big turnaround from the start of the season, as I didn't have a team, so it's brilliant news.

"I'm very proud to have it."

Butler has helped the Saddlers to four clean sheets in their last six games – a platform which has kept them in the survival hunt.

And Smith insisted a back-to-basics approach from his backline is the key to their success.

He said: "With the league we play in we want the defenders to be able to head and kick it – be defenders first and footballers second.

"That's been seen over recent weeks with the amount of goals we've conceded, we've had four clean sheets and that's because defenders are being defenders."