Walsall can handle pressure for boss

Walsall's battle-hardened troops are ready to prove again they can handle the pressure of another desperate League One survival contest.

That's the view of manager Dean Smith on the eve of the Saddlers trip to face crisis-riddled bottom club Plymouth.

The clash represents one last opportunity for the financially-crippled Home Park club to mount some resistance to their seemingly hopeless battle to avoid the drop.

That promises to make it a difficult afternoon for Smith's players - but the Walsall manager insists their recent record proves his players can handle it.

He said: "One thing I will say for our lads is when they have had to play these pressure games, they have not been beaten.

"They have faced Bristol Rovers twice, Swindon, Tranmere, Yeovil - they have been tough games to play and the boys have not lost any of them. That says a lot for the character of the team.

"It's a good sign mentally because you cannot allow these teams to pick up points on you and we haven't allowed that.

"The players have shown they are up to the task."

But Smith and his players have their eyes on three points tomorrow, after a week in which they dropped a place in the table without playing but saw other results go as they would have wanted.

The Saddlers boss also has only Aaron Lescott missing from his numbers tomorrow unlike his adversary Peter Reid, who is holding his team together with a bare minimum of resources because of injuries and suspension.

But Smith is eager to banish any notion of an easy ride for the Saddlers tomorrow.

After watching Plymouth's 2-0 defeat in midweek at Leyton Orient, he said: "It was a difficult night for them in terms of the conditions and the fact that Orient made a fast start which saw them score their goals early.

"But what impressed me after that was there was no collapse. It is a credit to Peter and his staff that the morale of the side does not appear to be effected by what is happening off the pitch - they are not taking the club's problems on to the pitch with them."

Argyle's very survival is at stake but the Saddlers arrive as news of a potential rescue from a consortium led by businessman Paul Buttivant.

The Pilgrims are up for sale, after entering administration last month with debts of more than £13 million, and continued the fire-sale of their players by selling 17-year-old prospect Jack Stephens to Southampton for £150,000 this week.

But that money is being held by the Football League, because of the Pilgrims debts to football creditors.