Matt Taylor: Walsall work ethic was not there
Boss Matt Taylor admits Walsall fell short in terms of work ethic in defeat to Harrogate Town – and has urged his players to 'reset'.
The Saddlers' encouraging run in League Two was brought to a grinding halt with a 3-1 loss to Simon Weaver's side at the Banks's Stadium.
Although there were some questionable refereeing decisions, it was a well-below-par performance from the hosts and Taylor insists they got what they deserved.
"It's disappointing because you didn't see the identity I've been so pleased with," said Taylor.
"That's not on the ball. It's the identity of the football club and the players off the ball.
"I don't think we worked hard enough. I don't think we picked up enough second balls.
"When you don't do that against teams at this level, you know you've always got an uphill struggle.
"Having been in that situation myself as a player, sometimes you try too hard.
"What I mean by the effort and desire is that we weren't in the right position to press often enough.
"Our starting position was not high enough and, therefore, we didn't pick up enough of those balls.
"When you surrender those positions to the opposition, you're always going to be struggling.
"It's just really disappointing we didn't get the performance I know the players can deliver."
Fans were incensed as Harrogate took the lead through Simon Power's free-kick – after Emmanuel Osadebe was deemed to have tripped Power.
Jack Diamond escaped the offside trap to make it 2-0 before Luke Armstrong added a third.
Substitute Kieran Phillips grabbed a late consolation for Walsall, who slumped to their first defeat in seven league games.
"We've got to use this as a reset. There's no excuses over why we lost this game," added Taylor.
"We lost because we didn't deserve anything from the game.
"We didn't match the opposition's effort or desire, and when we got into key areas, we made too many wrong decisions.
"However, we've lost one game in seven in the league.
"In this job, keeping your emotions on an even keel is important because you're going to have peaks and troughs.
"Yes, we've been beaten 3-1 at home and the manner of the defeat is disappointing, but we're a good team when the players perform to their potential.
"So, let's use this as a reset. The players will be coming in for training and I expect them to work hard, ready for next week."
