Express & Star

Help us stay up – Dean Keates calls to Walsall fans

Boss Dean Keates says Walsall’s fans have a huge role to play in helping their team stay in League One.

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With three games of the season remaining, the Saddlers sit just one point above the relegation zone.

But they could drop into the bottom four tonight if Oldham and Rochdale register results against Southend and Plymouth respectively.

Keates’ men face Northampton in their final home game of the campaign on Saturday in a clash that is likely to go a long way to defining their fate.

In a bid to attract more fans, the club are selling tickets in the Tile Choice Stand for £5. Season ticket holders can also bring a friend for £5. And Keates is hoping a bumper crowd will get the Banks’s Stadium rocking.

“Northampton is massive,” he said. “We have got a week to get ready for it and we will be going out there to get three points.

“We need as many people there as possible to make the difference and get behind the lads.

“We need them to turn up in their numbers.

“The fans were outstanding at Scunthorpe, they were singing all the way through.

“They made a difference, they got behind the lads and now we need them again.”

During his playing days, Keates was part of successful and unsuccessful relegation battles with the Saddlers.

And he hopes to use his experiences to help Walsall’s players as they head into three huge games.

“I can advise the players and give them bits of advice from my career,” the boss added.

“I have been in relegation battles. And what you do tend to find is when you are down there, things don’t go your way.

“A little bounce of the ball, this and that, but you have to get those little bits of detail right.

“We switched off at Scunthorpe and it cost us. That’s what you can’t do.

“We’ve made mistakes in the past few games.

“But all the lads know what they have got to do over the next three.”