Walsall will not be taking Stevenage lightly says Matt Taylor

The hosts are 22nd in the League Two table and have not won in six games.

But Taylor – whose side suffered a vastly disappointing defeat at Carlisle in late November, handing them a first win in 12 – is refusing to take the Boro lightly.

Paul Tisdale’s lot have made four new signings in a matter of days as they look to move away from trouble, and Walsall have done as much homework on them as possible.

“We always try to plan in terms of what we expect the opposition to look like,” said Taylor.

“Now, the identity of the football club I don’t think will change, even though the personnel probably will.

“Our players will have most definitely come up against the players they’ve signed. They know about them, we all know about them.

“This is where it’s imperative to do your homework and make sure you know as much as you possibly can about the opposition before you play them.

“That comes about from watching them, what they do and how they play.

“They have an extremely experienced manager who has been very, very successful at this level.

“So, I’m expecting an extremely tough game.

“It’ll be a really good game. We’re in a confident mood going into it, but also extremely respectful of the opposition.”

The Saddlers go into the clash after the euphoria of Conor Wilkinson’s late equaliser to draw 3-3 with Newport County last weekend.

Wilkinson will hope to start after his huge impact off the bench.

Taylor, meanwhile, is looking for a more ‘complete performance’ at the Lamex Stadium, having given away cheap goals against Newport.

“We want more of a complete performance both with the ball and without it. It’s very simple,” he said.

“As a group, that’s what we’ve spoken about this week and what’s extremely important.

“We need to be brave on the ball and better than we were without it against Newport.

“The standards at the football club are changing.

“I just felt we did more than enough to win against Newport, so that’s why I was disappointed although euphoric at the end after a goal like that.”

Walsall go into it with no fresh injury worries and could have Brendan Kiernan back in the squad after missing out last weekend, having tested positive for Covid-19.

Taylor, again, stressed the importance of having the right mentality as he added: “Stevenage are in a position they won’t be comfortable with, so we have to make sure we match their hunger and desire.

“We’re away from home and have picked up away recently.

“They’re a team who probably shouldn’t be in the position they are.

“We’re totally aware that this is a dangerous game for us. It would be extremely disrespectful of us to think we can just turn up and beat anybody.

“We’ll be fully prepared and we have to perform better than we did against Newport.”