Point a game not enough for Walsall

Fearless Walsall boss Dean Smith has admitted the Saddlers need more than a point a game to survive – but is relishing the fight.

The manager has ditched his worries about the relegation battle and insisted his side should not be scared.

Dagenham & Redbridge's 1-0 defeat to league leders Brighton last night kept them one point ahead of the fourth-bottom Saddlers with two games in hand.

The Saddlers, who sit on 40 points, have a free weekend before going to Plymouth on April 9 to continue their League One run-in.

They play Brighton, Sheffield Wednesday, Oldham, Charlton and Southampton in the final five games and, while he knows they need more than 47 points to stay up, Smith is up for the fight.

He said: "I don't think a point a game will be enough. We will need a couple of wins out of the seven certainly with some more results as well.

"If I had looked at our run-in at the start of the season it would have scared the life out of me. But looking how those clubs are doing now I am excited by it.

"The next six games are a challenge, but one I think the players will definitely rise to. They're all big clubs.

"But, as I have said before, they are League One teams."

Swindon lost 1-0 at Exeter and Sheffield Wednesday slumped 3-1 at home to Brentford to cap a decent night for Walsall – despite Yeovil's 1-0 win against Carlisle.

And Smith insisted his men have excelled to even be in with a chance of beating the drop.

He said: "We have definitely given ourselves a fighting chance. It's nice to be looking over our shoulders now and seeing Plymouth and Swindon six or seven points below us.

"We have put ourselves in with a really good shout. There are a lot of clubs looking over their shoulders.

"We are a tough team to play against."