Walsall starlets told to seize chance
Walsall’s young guns have been told they must be ready to grasp any chances which come their way this season.
Boss Darrell Clarke has included a number of youngsters in the Saddlers’ early pre-season fixtures, with scholars Joe Foulkes and Jayden Campbell both featuring in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Wolves under-23s at Lilleshall.
Sam Perry, Joe Willis and Tom Leak are among the others looking to follow in the footsteps of midfielder Alfie Bates, who successfully broke into the first-team last season.
With finances tight due to the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic and a hectic schedule in prospect, assistant boss Brian Dutton believes the youngsters could get more opportunities to impress this term.
He said: “It is a case of bleeding the youngsters through and getting them some game time around the starting XI.
“We are not a club who have big wealth in terms of playing budget. Everyone is in the same boat and unsure how things are going to work out. Finances are something everyone is concerned about.
“It is a case of getting these youngsters through, exposing them to first-team football and seeing how they are going to react. We are going to need them, quite possibly.”
He continued: “Credit to them, they have come back fit and are pushing themselves. It is always down to the mentality with the youngsters.
“To get a first-team shirt you have to have an unbelievable work ethic about you and that is what we have got with this group of players. I’m pleased with how the young players have come through.”
