Dean Keates: Walsall win the only thing that matters
Boss Dean Keates said the result was the only thing that mattered after Walsall boosted their League One survival hopes by securing a crucial win over Bury.
An 89th minute own-goal from Adam Thompson saw the Saddlers to a 1-0 victory against a Shakers side rooted to the bottom of the table.
The result – Walsall’s first win in five games – saw Keates’ men move five points clear of the relegation zone.
In what proved a keenly contested clash, the Saddlers were the better team in the first-half but Bury grew in stature after the interval.
Walsall kept going right until the end though, with Thompson’s error, from a Luke Leahy cross, then seeing them over the line.
“For us, it’s about points,” Keates said following his first win as Saddlers manager.
“If we got a performance on top that would have been a bonus but the lads ground something out.
“I thought in the first half we were the better team but second half, if I’m honest, they probably had the better of it.
“Obviously when you have got someone with the presence of James Hanson up top, it is always going to be difficult and there were a lot of balls coming into our box but we did okay.
“It was a little bit edgy and you could sense that in the second half.
“We got into good areas but the final ball was not good enough or people were passing up opportunities to have a shot. I think that is maybe a little bit of a confidence thing.
“But we kept going. I know it’s an own goal but we will take it. We needed something and whether it’s an own goal or going in off somebody’s backside, it all counts.
“To keep a clean sheet, we are over the moon with that.”
Despite admitting he was delighted to register his first victory as boss, Keates refused to get carried away with his attention immediately shifting to Wednesday’s six-pointer against Oldham.
“I’m delighted because we have got what we wanted – three points,” he added.
“But as I have said to the lads, I am not one for – even when I played – swinging from the rafters if we have won and I’m not as low as a snake’s belly if we’ve lost.
“I played my career by having a happy medium and I will be the same as a manager.”
