Darryl Westlake banishes talk of the drop at Walsall

Walsall defender Darryl Westlake today moved to banish talk of a relegation fight but insisted the Saddlers must avoid another horror season.

The right-back has warned his team-mates they cannot afford a second battle against the drop. Second-bottom Exeter visit the Banks's Stadium tonight bidding to keep the heat on the Saddlers.

Dean?Smith's side are just two points off the drop zone after one win in nine League One games and Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Tranmere left them 17th.

But Westlake, a survivor from last season's Great Escape where the Saddlers survived by a point, insists they cannot afford any negativity.

He said: "I wouldn't say talking about relegation is banned but we don't want to get it into our minds, if it is we could slip into what happened last season and we could get worse."