Paul Downing: Walsall can draw on the boss

The Saddlers, who head to relegation-threatened Crewe on Saturday, remain second in League One despite their 3-0 defeat to Millwall last weekend.

In the current squad of players, James O'Connor and Adam Chambers have experienced a promotion in the past following their achievements with Doncaster Rovers and Albion respectively.

O'Driscoll was in charge of the Donny side that included O'Connor, as they won a place in the Championship back in the 2007-08 campaign.

The Walsall boss was also a player when Bournemouth clinched promotion to the old Division Two.

But Downing dismissed suggestions the Saddlers would benefit from having more players with a promotion on their CV, believing the most important thing is that O'Driscoll has achieved it before.

He said: "We have one or two players in the squad who have won promotion before.

"And while it's only one or two, we are all experienced and have all played a lot of games together over a number of years.

"The manager has also done it a couple of times and that will be key for us. It does give you confidence knowing the manager has done it before.

"He has a very good reputation in the game thanks to what he has achieved. We trust what he does. I'm enjoying working under him and we are all learning lots of new things."

O'Driscoll has been keen to not make too many changes since replacing Dean Smith at the Banks's Stadium, but Downing believes the changes he has made could prove crucial.

The centre-back said: "Everyone has adapted to the new style and we have enjoyed the new way of working. He (O'Driscoll) hasn't changed too many things.

"It's just been one or two tweaks. But that has improved us, it has given us a new dimension. We have had to change some things because teams are not just going to roll over and let us beat them.

"We have to come up with new ways to win games."

Downing admits the squad is hugely motivated to make it to the Championship and create a piece of history for Walsall and the club's devoted supporters.

He added: "For us players, there is a real pride in being part of this squad. If we have a successful season and achieve what we want to achieve, then we will go down in the club's history.

"We all want to be remembered for being successful. It would be great to do it for the fans and also for the club because there are a lot of good people that work here.

"We are all going to give it everything we can to get over the line. We are all very aware that despite what we've done so far, football can be a very cruel game.

"We just have to keep making sure we are focused on the job at hand and that we continue with the right mentality for the challenges ahead."