Jon Whitney: Time Walsall turned draws into wins

The Saddlers entertain Blackpool at the Banks’s Stadium tomorrow having drawn four of their last seven matches.

In a bid to to tighten up at the back, Whitney’s men have spent extra time on the training ground this week – with the boss holding a double session on Tuesday.

It’s the first time in four weeks the squad has been able to work without the pressure of a midweek game.

“The work we have done this week has been invaluable,” Whitney said.

“When you have a midweek game, you can still go over stuff tactically and do video analysis.

“But it’s not the same as going out on the training pitch and doing it at full pace – working at the intensity you get on a match day.

“We are not hiding away from the fact defensively we have not been good enough.

“It’s has been mentioned in the press by some of our players because we feel it more than anybody.

“We know we can’t keep giving cheap goals away.

“We are working hard to turn some of these draws into wins.

“We have hit the ground running this week. We had a double session – working on those areas we need to improve. We then reinfored that yesterday.”

Blackpool, who include ex-Saddler Andy Taylor amongst their ranks, have impressed on their return to League One following their promotion last year.

And Whitney believes Gary Bowyer’s side are dark horses in the race for the Championship.

“I think Gary Bowyer is doing incredibly well,” he said.

“He has brought stability in the club. He has got a great mixture of youth and experience.

“He also has power and pace throughout the team.

“They are coming off the back of a promotion and I think they’ll be one of the form teams this year.

“They are playing well. They are only two points off the play-offs.

“We are expecting a tough game. But we say that every week.

“It’s an incredible league. Everyone can beat everyone. It’s consistency that is the most important thing.”