Matt Taylor demands Walsall put in hard yards against Rochdale

The Saddlers are at the Banks’s Stadium again tomorrow as they host Rochdale.

The onus is on bouncing back from last weekend’s 3-1 defeat to Harrogate Town, and Taylor said: “It’s about getting back to basics.

“They gave you the platform to put in performances. We didn’t do that last weekend, but the players have trained well this week.

“We understand why we lost the game against Harrogate. It was because we didn’t match the opposition’s workrate, energy or desire.

“That’s a controllable. So, for us, everything is underpinned by hard work, and we need to get back to that. The only focus now is Rochdale.

“They’re a well-structured team and have a clear identity, with the formation they play.

“They’re well-drilled in and out of possession.

“It’ll be a different test to the one we faced against Harrogate. They play a different way, but the fundamentals remain the same for us.

“I expect the team to work far harder with the ball, and far harder without the ball.

“The picture can’t be any clearer for the players. We can’t put in an under-par performance without the ball. We have to make sure we work harder than the opposition.”

Walsall are keen to put on a show for the home supporters, with the Banks’s attendance likely to be the largest yet this season.

This is the club’s annual School Partners game and with more than 40 local primaries having taken part, 1,644 tickets have been sold in what is a record for the scheme.

Taylor knows it is an opportunity to inspire some youngsters and wants his side to capitalise.

“It’s fantastic, the partnership with the local schools,” he said.

“If we can do anything to cement that relationship as players and as staff, I’m all for that.

“The fans have been brilliant since I joined, and this will be an opportunity to perform in front of some new fans. We must look at this as an opportunity to engage with a new audience.

“Some of those kids will have never been to a game of football before.

“For some of our players, it might be the largest crowd they’ve played in front of, so what an opportunity.”

Walsall are welcoming back Joss Labadie from suspension but will be without Hayden White after picking up his fifth booking of the campaign against Harrogate.

Taylor added: “It’s annoying that in the last two games we’ve lost two influential players, albeit for one game.

“Hayden will be missed but like always, it gives somebody else an opportunity.”

Key duo Liam Kinsella and Conor Wilkinson could both potentially make the squad after returning to training this week.

Rory Holden is now ‘back on the grass’ but remains out alongside Zak Mills.