Chris Marsh: Walsall need to crack on

Bottom of the form table with just two wins during that spell, the team is low on confidence and stuck in a rut.

You can turn around a run of bad results – the majority of teams have up and down spells throughout the course of a campaign.

But everyone knows Walsall need players if they are to move back up into mid-table.

Signings are needed first and foremost because the squad simply isn’t big enough at the minute.

Just at the back, there are only two central defenders and no competition for the full-backs.

But as I said in this column last week, they need signings to help lift the place.

And my message this week is simply, hurry up and get on with it. Identify your targets and bring them in.

I hear a lot of talk about lists of players and working your way through your targets. But it doesn’t have to be as complicated as that.

Let’s be honest, if Walsall want to sign you; there is a very good chance you are not playing at your current club.

Speak to the player and tell them you are offering them a chance to play every week at a great League One club.

OK, they are going to have to come in and battle. But they will be given an opportunity to play. That is massive.

If you speak to a target and they start umming and erring – forget them, because I’m telling you now they aren’t going to sign.

If you speak to a player and he says he’s interested but it’s his kid’s birthday next week – forget him.

There is no doubt money is playing a huge part. I’m sure there are players who are waiting to see if they can get more elsewhere.

But that is where the owner comes in. Help Keatesy get in the players he wants because it’s all going on too long.

At the time of writing, Walsall have signed one player this window.

That is Matt Jarvis but he is a direct replacement for Josh Ginnelly.

And they have lost Russell Martin and Jack Fitzwater.

Things need to quicken up because you can’t just throw players into the team.

It doesn’t matter if you are a loan signing or a permanent addition, everyone takes time to settle at a new club.

You need to bed in, you need to get used to how things work and the coaching staff and other players need to get to know how you work.

It’s far from ideal signing a player on a Friday and playing them on a Saturday or Tuesday.

They need time to get understand the team and to know what goes on and set-pieces and things like that.

What I don’t want to see is us going to the depths of the January window, just like we did last year.

Because it will take those signings a few weeks to settle and then you are in mid-February.

Games are ticking by, precious points could be lost.

To be brutally honest, I’m bored with waiting, I want to see the club getting a move on.

I’ve got no doubt Keates can identify the right players to bring in. So crack on and get them in.

That is exactly what Scunthorpe did and look at them now. They had lost seven games in a row. But they have now signed six players this month.

Five of them had arrived before I went there with Coventry a fortnight ago. Only one of the new recruits played. But just by walking through the door the new signings have lifted the place and provided added competition.

They beat Coventry 2-1 that day. And this is said with no disrespect but Cov should have won that game.

And then what happens? They go the Banks’s Stadium and beat Walsall 2-1.

They only had two shots on target but they managed to win the game – their fourth victory in a row.

Now it feels like Scunthorpe are on the up. Confidence in the dressing room will certainly be high.

That has to be the blueprint for Walsall now. Scunthorpe’s run started with a 1-0 win over Wycombe.

And that is what we need. We need to get back to basics and get a scruffy 1-0, even if the goal comes off a player’s backside.

It’s a cliché but it’s what is needed.

We are at the stage now where it’s all about results. But while confidence is low, the role of the fans becomes even more important.

If Walsall aren’t 1-0 up after 30 minutes, they are going to come in for some stick.

The players understand that. I think a lot of fans would be surprised at just how much footballers understand.

But they are low and that is why we need everyone to pull together. Let’s stick together and help the lads end this dreadful run.