Stefan Gamble: Walsall FC can improve next season

Stefan Gamble today insisted Walsall can improve next season – despite being forced to slash their budget.

The Saddlers chief executive reckons they can avoid a third straight relegation battle in League One.

Walsall have had to cut their budget after a 26 per cent drop in Football League TV revenue for the start of the season.

The three-year deal with Sky, which starts for the 2012-13 campaign, is £69m less than the last contract when the BBC were also involved.

"There's no reason why we can't compete," said Gamble, with the Saddlers banking £10,000 for their televised game at Shrewsbury in October. "The TV deal is a huge chunk of our income as it is for many clubs. With that dropping we have had to adjust but it has affected every team. It's only relative.

"You look at last season and we competed very well against the supposed big teams, where we fell down was not doing so well against the so-called lesser teams.

"There are no easy games in the division and it will be competitive but I think we'll be able to compete."

Walsall beat the drop by seven points last season – a year after pulling off their Great Escape and staying up by a point on the final day.

But Gamble now expects boss Dean Smith to guide the team, who reported back for pre-season training yesterday, away from the drop zone to avoid any late scares.

He said: "We have to improve on last season, there's no doubt about that. We have to be pushing further up the table. Last season was a disappointment and Dean will echo that sentiment.

"We wanted to do much better than we did. In the end it was comfortable but it wasn't that comfortable all season and we certainly do not want to be in that position again.

"Dean wants to bring a good football philosophy to this club, right through the youth team and into the first team, so we have entertaining football on the pitch and the club will have something to be proud of."