Walsall going all out to cure FA Cup woes
Manager Dean Smith has vowed Walsall will be "doing their damnedest" to end seven years of FA Cup hurt – starting tomorrow against Shrewsbury Town.
The Saddlers host their Shropshire rivals in the first round of a competition which has not been kind to them in recent years.
They have not reached the third round since the 2007-08 campaign and Smith is determined to put that right this term.
"I have been told it's a while since we got to the third round of the FA Cup," he said.
"I have only been in charge of three FA Cup campaigns and it feels like we have played eight or nine games and still not got to the third round.
"It shows how tough it can and will be. It's one we certainly want to try and get to and we will be doing our damnedest."
Tomorrow's game is the first of three home fixtures in a week for the Saddlers with a Johnstone's Paint Trophy area quarter-final against Sheffield United to come on Wednesday.
And Smith told of how his players are looking forward to it. "We're excited about this week," he said. "But you can only take one game at a time.
"The FA Cup is special for all the players and they are excited about it."
Walsall beat Shrewsbury 3-0 at the same stage of the competition last year and Smith expects a tough game.
"We didn't have any easy games against them last season even though we ran out comfortable winners in the FA Cup because we were very good on the day," he said.
Meanwhile, the Saddlers could be set to lose player-coach Dean Holden.
The 35-year-old centre-back has held discussions with Oldham boss Lee Johnson about becoming first-team coach at Boundary Park.
Holden joined the Saddlers in 2012 and became player-coach in 2013.
He has stressed a desire to continue playing but the pull of working nearer his Salford home and re-joining a club, for whom he made 125 appearances between 2001 and 2005 may prove too strong.
