Walsall boss targets the loan window

Walsall manager Dean Smith is primed to move for new faces when the loan window re-opens after admitting defeat in any deadline-busting swoops.

The Saddlers boss will cash in on the loan market from next Thursday following the close of the transfer window last night.

Smith signed eight new players in the summer but didn't do any more permanent business before yesterday's deadline.

The manager made tentative enquiries for new loanees and lost out to Championship sides but will now wait.

He said: "The calls I made weren't happening, they were going to Championship teams. A lot of the Premier League teams are looking to get them out as high as they can.

"There are a few clubs, like ourselves, who are lining up players already for the loan window when it re-opens and have made a calculated gamble and said it's only one game they're going to miss.

"There were a few phone calls going about, a lot of managers phoned me about players I've previously had and I just tested the water with a few.

"There was nothing to come in permanently so we'll be looking at the loan window when it opens."

Smith also has two players on trial as he keeps his options open to boost a squad which has lost just one of their first five games in League One.

He said: "I've got a couple of players in who are unattached and the transfer window doesn't apply to them. If they do well enough I can sign them.

"The groundwork has gone in. The players who will be training are unattached and they will have to prove their fitness."