Josh Gordon: Walsall promotion has to be the goal

Saddlers saw a 12-year stay in League One come to an end when they were relegated on the final day of the 2018/19 campaign.

Since then, there has been much debate among supporters about what is a realistic target for the new season.

But with new boss Darrell Clarke having previously won promotion from English football’s fourth tier, Gordon believes the Saddlers must challenge to make an instant return to League One.

“From what I have seen from the manager and the new players, we really need to be at the top end of the table and challenging for promotion,” he said. “We need to be challenging for the automatic spots or the play-offs. As a club and as footballers, that is the overall aim that we need to focus on.

“Having tasted that level of football, that is certainly where I want to be.

“Hopefully we can make some history and get the club back to where we should be, that is in League One.”

Following his appointment as manager, Clarke moved quickly to snap up midfielder Stuart Sinclair and defender James Clarke. The duo both played key roles in the manager winning promotions during his spells with Salisbury City and Bristol Rovers. And Gordon is pleased to see the boss add some proven winners to Walsall’s ranks.

“I think it is good that we have brought in some players who have been in this situation before,” he continued. “The manager obviously has promotions under his belt with his previous teams and some of the lads that he has brought in have been through that with him.”

Meanwhile, Gordon revealed he worked on his fitness during the break so he could report back for pre-season in the best possible shape.

“The first week of pre-season can always come as a bit of a surprise to us as players,” he added. “But I had a rest, I recharged my batteries and then I did some work in the close season to keep fresh.”