Jimmy Walker set coaching challenge

Mick Kearns today revealed he wants Jimmy Walker to replace him as keeping coach – with the club legend on the brink of history.

The Saddlers stalwart wants the veteran succeed him when he retires with Walker closing in on the club's appearance record.

If he plays at Brentford on Saturday Walker will break Colin Harrison's record with his 530^th outing for the Saddlers.

And Kearns believes the keeper can extend his Walsall career beyond his playing days and coach the next generation.

He said: "I'd love him to take over because he's got some good ideas and has worked with some top coaches in the Premier League. That will stimulate him too – I think he'd be good.

"I'm getting on in years and coaching is a bit of a young man's game. Younger goalkeepers respond better to younger coaches and I'm more old school and think goalkeepers should work hard. "Younger coaches think it's about technical ability, sometimes I'll watch others and think the keepers are going to put on weight during the sessions."

Walker made his Saddlers debut in a 0-0 draw against Gillingham in 1993 before moving to West Ham in 2004 and returning in 2010. And Kearns, also Walsall's community manager, insisted the 38-year-old deserves the tag of club legend.

"He is a great goalkeeper and great for Walsall," he said. "People are quite rightly talking about him as a legend in the same way Colin Harrison is and always will be.

"He's gone on to be the best goalkeeper at Walsall who I can remember and I joined in 1973. I was with Stuart Naylor at Albion and Paul Bradshaw at Wolves and they were top keepers but Wacka is up there."

And Kearns revealed the pair made a pact after the Saddlers pulled off their Great Escape at Southampton on the final day of last season.

He said: "Wacka and I said down after Southampton and I was thinking about finishing with the goalkeeping. But we looked at each other and said 'if you give it one more season I will'.

"We both nodded in agreement. We would have gone down last year but for Wacka, no doubt. We'd have also been knocked out of the Cup by Fleetwood. The difference between the two sides was the goalkeeper."