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Walsall need to learn fast says Darrell Clarke

Walsall boss Darrell Clarke says both him and his team are ‘forever learning’ but he insists his players need to do more.

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His side have now fallen to three defeats in a row after poor showings against Salford, Leyton Orient and Cheltenham.

And Clarke wants his team to start learning quicker as they look to get back on track.

“They’re (the players) getting frustrated,” he said.

“They’re an honest, hard-working bunch, but I want them to be better.

“They need to get better, they know where I stand.

“Yes we’re a new group, gelling together quickly but they have to be learning quickly.

“I’m learning all the time about the group, players that have been at the club previously and players I’ve signed as well.

“You’re forever learning as a manager. I’ll always be honest. I’m a manager that’s going to make mistakes, not all managers will sit in front of cameras and admit their mistakes.

“I’m a manager that has managed over 400 games and got four promotions on my CV and I’d like to think I get more decisions right than wrong but I’m not the finished article.

“You’ve got to keep learning as a manager, progressing and taking things on board, you do that and show an honesty amongst the fans who pay their hard earned money, they appreciate it.”

The squad has been under pressure from fans in recent weeks, who are desperate for the club to bounce back from relegation from League One last season.

And Clarke wants his side to relish in that pressure and use it as a positive.

“I keep saying this, you have to enjoy pressure,” he added.

“There’s pressure everywhere you go in the footballing world, I quite enjoy it.

“I programme my mindset to enjoy it and to focus, players have to do that.

“Players that go through a bad run of form and players playing well, you have to be able to manage and control it.

“We can talk until the cows come home on tactics, but for me it’s mindset.

“The mindset of being confident and making right decisions under pressure.

“That’s how players get up the pyramid and my players have to do it on a more consistent basis and show me, certainly at home, that they can take games by the scruff of the neck.”