Dean Keates vows to build Walsall team to be proud of

The 39-year-old, who is from Beechdale, was confirmed as Walsall’s new manager on Friday after the club agreed a compensation package to lure him away from Wrexham.

Keates, who has penned a three-and-a-half-year-deal at the Banks’s Stadium, replaced Jon Whitney who was sacked last week.

The former midfielder won three promotions and made more than 200 appearances for Walsall in two separate stints as a player.

And today he met with the media to outline his plans for the future.

“I’m honoured to be here,” Keates said.

“I’ve stood on the terraces of Fellow’s Park. I’ve been here as a fan at the Banks’s. You could call it Roy of the Rovers stuff.

“I’ve grown up supporting the club. I achieved great things here as a player. Now I’m manager which is a great honour.

“I know what the team means to the town. I want the town to unite and get behind the team and behind the football club again.

“I want to put a team out there that can make the town proud.”

Keates has joined Walsall having guided Wrexham to fourth in the National League with the Dragons currently in the thick of a promotion race.

But he admitted the lure of coming back to his home town club was too good to turn down.

“What it difficult to leave Wrexham? Yes and no,” he said.

“This is my home town, I’m from two mile up the road.

“Wrexham are in a good position and I expect them to be pushing at the end of the season.

“They are right in the mix. I was settled there. But as soon as this job was put forward as a possibility, this was the only club that was going to get me out of Wrexham.”

Walsall currently sit 16th in League One, five points above the drop zone. And Keates admitted his first aim for the season has to be survival.

“Short term the aim has to be to make sure we are still a League One team next season,” he continued.

“It’s tight down the bottom. There are still a lot of teams involved. Let’s not kid ourselves, we need to be looking over our shoulder.

“Medium term we need to build something and get the whole town to buy into the football club again. And then we can go from there.”

Keates will continue to work with first-team coach Ian Sharps.

But he has also been told by the board they will back him financially if he wishes to bring in additional coaching staff.

“I’m working with Sharpy (Sharps), Keates added.

“I have only ever played against him. It’s a new relationship we are getting to know each other.

“We sat in the car together and travelled up to Oldham to watch that game. It’s still early days.”