Jon Whitney delighted at Walsall reaction

Goals from Simeon Jackson and Franck Moussa – either side of a Fred Onyedinma header – secured a 2-1 win for the Saddlers to lift them up to 16th in League One.

The victory helped banish the memory of Tuesday's loss to the Iron – a match which saw Graham Alexander's side run out 4-1 winners.

And Whitney felt his team showed their true character against the Lion's, especially in the last 20 minutes when they defended expertly to keep Neil Harris' side at bay.

"It was an important win, coming off the back of Tuesday," the boss said.

"You could sense the tension in the players in the last 20 minutes and in the whole stadium because it was such a big game even at this early stage of the season.

"It was vital that we got three points and it was a great answer from the lads to Tuesday's performance which was what we asked for.

"They take all the credit today, the boys, great shift, great work ethic and deservedly they got the three points. I couldn't have asked any more from them."

Whitney was particularly pleased with the work-rate his players showed.

He said: "I said to Franck (Moussa) 'if I have to come and carry you off I will! All I ask today is just run yourself into the ground for me'.

"He's done that and he's got his reward with the goal which is great.

"Simeon gets another which is fantastic. Kevin Toner grew in stature throughout the game. You can see why I brought him in because he's one that actually stepped forward. So I can't fault the lads. They dug in when they needed to.

"Millwall put us under a lot of pressure. When needed the two centre-halves were really solid but so were the full-backs.

"George Dobson did really well and came off with nothing left – but that's what you have to do if you want to win games, that's what you have to sacrifice physically.

"Wimbledon, Bolton, this game – we can do that, we can battle but we still need to show teams what we can do. We were solid but we can still get better."