Kory Roberts understood why he was left out

The talented teenager put in string of impressive displays for the Saddlers throughout October and November while James Wilson was sidelined with an ankle injury.

But Wilson was recalled to the side for Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Iron, with the Sheffield United loanee lining up alongside Jon Guthrie at the heart of Walsall’s defence.

That meant 19-year-old Roberts had to make do with a place on the bench.

And Whitney revealed the youngster fully understood the decision with the boss believing Roberts will benefit from the Saddlers responsibly rationing his game time.

“I just think with young players, you have to know when to bring them out and when to put them in,” he said.

“I think Kory gets better each time that he comes in, but he understood the decision completely.

“I went with experience on Saturday, with Jon and Wilo (Wilson), as I knew Scunthorpe would be a threat up top.

“I went with experience but Kory was OK. He keeps his head up and he’ll be ready to call on again.”

After toppling an Iron side who arrived at the Banks’s Stadium sitting third in League One, Walsall now face back-to-back games against strugglers Northampton and Rochdale.

And while his team have now won three consecutive games in the division, Whitney insists they won’t be taking the next two games lightly.

“They’re both tricky games, Saturday was tricky – every game in this league is tricky,” the boss continued.

“What you have got to do is keep performing and you will win more than you lose.

“As I have said to the lads before, you just have to go out there and do everything you can.

“If you can get your energy levels working back – when we lose the ball – the same as we do when we win it, that’s the ingredient for a successful team.

“I watched Liverpool last week (against Spartak Moscow) and I showed the players three of their goals.

“It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, you have to have that energy off the ball.

“We had that against Scunthorpe on Saturday. We limited them to very few chances. We defended as a team, from the front.”

A host Walsall players impressed in the victory over Graham Alexander’s side with Erhun Oztumer and Florent Cuvelier grabbing the headlines.

But Whitney was also pleased with left-back Luke Leahy, who he felt played with more aggression.

“Luke had a good game,” he added. “He was more aggressive – he defended well. He’s got the energy to produce that.”