Walsall keen to repay fans' faith
Boss Jon Whitney has told his players to repay Walsall's fans for the heavy defeat at Bradford by beating rivals Shrewsbury tonight.
The Saddlers host their West Midlands rivals looking to bounce back from their 4-0 drubbing at Valley Parade on Saturday.
Speaking after that game, a furious Whitney questioned his players' desire to win promotion and said he would pick his team for tonight's clash based on how they responded in training yesterday.
But while the boss was pleased with the reaction, he warned tonight is where they need to deliver.
"I asked for a reaction and the reaction was outstanding," Whitney said.
"It was a dynamic response from all the players. The group that trained were outstanding
"And the recovering lads in the gym were upbeat and self-critical.
"But it's responding in the game tonight that really matters and we know we have a great opportunity to repay the fans.
"It's a derby, it's going to be a tough game and I know Micky Mellon has got Shrewsbury chomping at the bit but we are hungry to put things right.
"We are going to ramp up the energy levels and repay the fans because we weren't just gutted for ourselves on Saturday, we were gutted for all our supporters."
Walsall know they must win tonight to realistically have any hope of winning automatic promotion.
"What an opportunity we have got," Whitney added. "We have got three games left and it starts with a derby tonight.
"Then on Monday, the players get to showcase their talents live on Sky against Fleetwood. Then on the last day of the season they will get to play in front thousands of away fans who will all travel to Port Vale in fancy dress and hopefully they will have a shot at winning promotion to the Championship.
"It's mouthwatering. The good news is that we are still on the ride."Our work ethic has been second to none all season. We dropped off those standards at Bradford but everyone makes mistakes.
"Now we are determined to return to our best."
