Dean Smith: Don't waste all the good work

Just four games and 360 minutes stand between Walsall and a shot at immortality.

Tomorrow's visit of Sheffield Wednesday represents the first of four matches which will define the Saddlers' immediate future.

After 21 games under Dean Smith, when they started eight points adrift, the Saddlers sit just one point from safety. And now, fourth bottom in League One, the Saddlers have entered the 'must win' territory after a season of struggle.

They have clawed their way back since Chris Hutchings' January sacking to stand on the brink of pulling off the Great Escape.

And the message from Smith, a former Owls captain, is simple — don't let the effort go to waste.

"We were cast adrift a while ago and to get where we are now is a fantastic achievement — to have something to fight for with four games to go," said the boss, who made 62 appearances for the Owls between 2003 and 2004.

"We have come a long way and the players know the hard work and performances have helped get us there. They need to make sure they keep doing it.

"They've taken a lot of plaudits for the performances we've had since January and they need to make sure they keep doing the same things.

"I've said before the last few are all winnable games and I wasn't trying to be smart — I was being serious. All the games we play are winnable and Brighton was no exception.

"We came out of that with a 3-1 defeat after giving them two goals, but we'll recover."

A win tomorrow could shoot Walsall out of the drop zone — depending on results today — and prove the perfect springboard for survival.

Lose and they hand a bigger advantage to their rivals ahead another round of fixtures on Monday. The Saddlers go to Oldham while Dagenham are at Huddersfield, Notts County host Brentford and Bristol Rovers visit Bournemouth.

It's a pressure-cooker environment and Smith again insisted keeping cool could be the difference between salvation or sorrow.

"The advice is to play with their heads when they get on the pitch. The ones who keep their heads will be the ones who win football matches," said the boss, who is without Clayton McDonald (dislocated shoulder), Aaron Lescott (knee) and the suspended Emmanuel Ledesma.

"There's not a lot of pressure on Wednesday, apart from the pressure their fans put on them.

"They'll have a good following, and are a big club, but I believe we're capable of beating them. "They'll have the same pressure on them as they have for every game with the following their have."

Mid-table Wednesday are set to bring around 2,000 supporters — despite having nothing to play for.

And following the crowd of 6,015 for the 3-1 defeat to Brighton last Saturday — the biggest home crowd of the season — Smith expects his men to relish the heat.

He said: "We had a great open day on Tuesday. The kids were there with their parents, the players had a great rapport with them and hopefully that will entice a few more through the gates. It will be a good atmosphere and a really good game.

"The last few games are exciting, whether we're playing four ex-Premier League teams or not, and what it will do is generate an atmosphere simply by having more fans there.

"I thought my players were up for the Brighton game and were ready for the scrap against the top team in the league.

"Were it not for the shoulder which deflected Marc Laird's volley over the bar it could have been different. Players like playing in front of people, it gets the adrenaline pumping and they want to play in front of big crowds."

Wednesday are expected to be unchanged following their 2-0 win over Hartlepool with only defender Mark Beevers — who scored in the Owls' 3-0 win against Walsall in November — out with a fractured cheekbone.