Walsall are down but not down

Walsall blogger Mark Jones believes the Saddlers have come a long way and have every reason to be optimistic - despite their League One future hanging in the balance.

The last time Walsall played on a Bank Holiday Monday, it ended in a crushing defeat at Peterborough.

With four months of the season to play we were already miles behind everyone else, not only in terms of points but in the quality of our football too.

The one good thing to come out of that game was the overdue sacking of manager Chris Hutchings, but the prospect of being out of the bottom four with two games to go - albeit by a point and with one eye on the resurgent Plymouth - seemed so remote back then that it was almost beyond contemplation.

Fast forward to yesterday's draw at Oldham and, under boss Dean Smith, we have given ourselves a chance of survival.

It was odd coming out of Boundary Park having climbed out of the relegation zone with two other results having gone for us and yet feeling so flat.

It was always going to take a real quality strike like the one Jason Lowe sickeningly conjured up to stop us getting the three points that our performance deserved.

Some of our play was disjointed at times and we don't keep hold of the ball anywhere well enough for my liking, but that's a reflection of why we are where we are in the table.

We also created some great opportunities – Jon Macken's reaction to his first-half chance is well worth checking out on the BBC I-Player, the reaction to yet another non-penalty would be classed as x-rated – and played with some real spirit, something that was sadly lacking pretty much from August right up to that Peterborough game.

What was most impressive about Boundary Park was our support, we got behind the lads throughout and gave them the ovation they merited at the end - despite the late stinger.

Seeing so many faces old and new in the ground, outside the ground, in the bar at half-time and in the pubs really brought it home just how much it still means to be a Saddler and how much of a tragedy relegation would be.

Charlton at home really is the massivest of massive games. Anyone who has any love for the Saddlers should do whatever it takes to be there, regardless of what they think of a certain individual - and who knows even he might turn up.

Oldham's late leveller was deflating but we're not down yet – come on you Saddlers!