Rory Gaffney working to end Walsall goal drought agony
Walsall manager Darrell Clarke says striker Rory Gaffney is 'feeling the weight of the world' after missing several chances in their 2-1 loss to Mansfield.
It was the Saddlers' fifth loss in a row but with two one-on-one opportunities for Gaffney, Walsall had the chances to win the game.
The Irishman never looked confident in front of goal and spurned his chances to net his first for the club, after joining on-loan from Salford.
His strike partner, Elijah Adebayo, equalised for Walsall in the game.
It was his second for the club after joining in the summer and it seemed to give him a confidence boost as he turned out an impressive performance.
And Clarke says Gaffney is 'feeling' the affects of not getting amongst the goals.
“You’re hoping Elijah gets confidence from that," he said.
“Rory’s feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders at the minute.
“He’s had some tremendous chances that he normally slotted in for me over the years.
“I think he’s feeling it.
“You can’t question his work rate and desire but he’s not scoring the goals.
“He’s putting a hell of a shift in for the team, he’ll know that.
“We need a bit of competition up there, take a little bit of the pressure off the boys.
“They’re an honest set, they really are.
“We’re working very hard.
“It’s a counselling session for my strikers at the minute.
“We do a lot of work on finishing.
“But I can finish in training can’t I, it’s under the pressure of games where you’ve got to it.
“That’s why the strikers get paid top dollars to put the ball in the back of the net.
“We haven’t done it in massive moments this season, it’s probably the difference between a 12-point swing, quite comfortably.
“I don’t feel like anybody has overrun us in any game, whatsoever."
Fellow striker Josh Gordon limped off after 25 minutes in the loss, but Clarke did confirm that frontman Caolan Lavery is close to a return from injury.
“It’s early days to assess but I think it’s his (Gordon) calf.
“It sums us up a little bit at the minute, picking up injuries.
“Lavs (Coalan Lavery) is back.
“Disappointing for him to be out but he’ll be back on the grass next week, he’s stepped up his rehab.
“We’ve had a bit of a problem this season and a lot of them have been compact injuries, which you can’t do a lot about.
“The training ground is very boggy, very wet, so we have to analyse how much training we do, the intensity and the minutes.
“But there’s players that need a bit of work as well, a lot of work to do I’m afraid."
