Butler ready to crank up the pressure

Skipper Andy Butler today called on Walsall to ram home the advantage in the survival race and ruin their rivals' hopes.

The Saddlers go to relegation rivals Rochdale tomorrow knowing a win could move them five points clear of the drop zone.

Dale sit third-bottom in League One – eight points behind the fifth-bottom Saddlers who could all but end their hosts' survival hopes with a win.

Walsall then welcome bottom side Chesterfield next Saturday and Butler admitted it is crunch time.

"They are the 'six pointers' which come up," he said. "It's a big way to go about it – to play them back-to-back – and you've got to beat those teams to stay up. We've just got to get as many points as we can. They are two games which are important for everyone.

"Tomorrow is a six pointer – there's no other way to look at it. You take three points off them and they can get those again.

"Even if we do lose we'll bounce onto the next game and you never know, the way we're playing, we'll beat Charlton, MK Dons and Huddersfield.

"But Rochdale are eight points off us now, Chesterfield had the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in mind so let's capitalise while we can."

Tuesday's vital 3-1 win over Colchester lifted Walsall above fourth bottom Wycombe to hand the initiative back to the Saddlers and Butler insisted they are masters of their own destiny.

"It's in our hands and teams around us won't keep winning," said the defender. "We're not a bad team, we've drawn 18 and turn a few of those into wins and we'd have climbed the table massively.

"We're that close, it's a fine line to being up there and down where we are. I still feel we'll be fine.

"It's a little different to last year because we're not playing badly, we're defending well as a team and creating chances.

"We've got to take it on to the so-called smaller clubs and there's a belief in the club we can."