Jon Whitney hails reliable Walsall 'future captain' Joe Edwards

The 26-year-old was snapped up on a free transfer from Colchester in the summer and has quickly become a key part of the Saddlers squad thanks to his versatility.

Edwards switched from full-back to central midfield earlier in the campaign and found himself playing out wide in Walsall's last two outings against Bradford and Port Vale.

And Whitney admits it's great to have a player in the squad who can perform in a host of different positions.

"You can rely on Joe – you know for a fact what you are going to get and that he will do a job for you," the boss said.

"If the opposition have got a player who is a ball-carrier we can nullify that threat by playing Joe wide and protecting the full-back.

"But let's not take anything away from him, he's also a threat going forward. He arrives in the box really well and reads the game really well.

"He is a key component for us and he is a big voice.

"It's important we keep our shape and Joe helps us do that. He is a leader. He has been a captain in the past, when he was at Yeovil, and he is a future captain. We have got quite a few future captains in the team."

As well as Edwards, Whitney is also pleased with partnership that is forming between James O'Connor and Matt Preston at the heart of the Saddlers' defence.

"I thought Matty and James were excellent at Port Vale," the boss continued.

"We say it all the time, expect the worst scenario – cover your team mates.

"They worked really well to cover each other. And when players do that, you don't even notice when they make a mistake.

"Reactions after mistakes are so important.

"And you can see those partnerships are now growing all over the pitch.

"You get points from that and points mean you climb higher in the table.

"Jimmy has been excellent, he is leading Matty and Matty is getting stronger for that."