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Walsall boss Matt Taylor: Joss Labadie will learn

Boss Matt Taylor says Joss Labadie will ‘learn a valuable lesson’ as he sits out Walsall’s next three league games.

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Skipper Labadie picked up a straight red card as the Saddlers drew 1-1 at Bradford last weekend.

His three-match ban in League Two was starting with the game against Mansfield today, and Taylor said: “It’s a difficult one to take.

“We did have that conversation as a club (about appealing) but decided it was probably something we were not going to be successful with.

“So, Joss is upset and angry, but he’s got to learn a valuable lesson from this.

"That valuable lesson has to be that, yes, we want 100 per cent commitment, but what we can’t have is players being sent off.

“Having been in Joss’s position and made those challenges as a player, I understand exactly how he feels.

"But in terms of moving forward, we have to make sure we keep 11 players on the pitch as often as we can – if not for every remaining game of the season.”

Labadie’s three-match ban applies to the league only so he could feature against Brighton in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.

Walsall, meanwhile, remain on the lookout for free agents and still have trialists in the building as Taylor added: “We’re continuously looking but for a free agent to come in, he’s got to add something straight away.

“We have got players in with us and that’s all at the moment.”