Walsall told to seize initiative

The Saddlers welcome Daniel Stendel’s side to the Banks’s Stadium on Saturday for a match which has been moved to a noon start for television coverage.

Keates’ men enter the game sitting in the bottom four following back-to-back defeats to Portsmouth and Sunderland.

But a win would see them leapfrog up to 13th in the League One standings ahead of the 3pm kick-offs.

“There is a now a table in the table because there are that many teams in the mix,” Keates said. “The way we are looking at the game against Barnsley is that we have an opportunity to put pressure on the other times.

“By the time we finish our game on Saturday, we could be 13th in the table.

“We kick off first, we have got an opportunity to affect the game before anyone else can. We have been putting in OK performances but we need to be putting points on the board. Come 2pm all being well, we’ll be where we want to be.”

Saturday’s game is the second time Walsall have played in front of the Sky cameras this season.

Back in November their goalless draw at Fleetwood was broadcast by the TV giant. But Keates doesn’t feel being on television will affect the performances of his players.

“For me, as I’ve said to the players, it’s not about the cameras,” the boss continued. “They have to go out and do what they are paid to do.

“That’s going out there, doing their best and giving everything they can to win a football match.

“There will be one or two different haircuts, I’ve got no doubt about that.

“There will be one or two of the making sure they are primed and glamorous.

“It’s changed a lot from my playing days – that’s a generational thing.

“But the cameras won’t make any difference to how we perform.”