Express & Star

Michael Flynn: Walsall squad is much better now

Michael Flynn insists the new Walsall squad he has built is far stronger than last season’s and better equipped for the rigours of League Two.

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Flynn was taking his side to AFC Telford United for another friendly today and has enjoyed putting his stamp on the group, with 13 fresh faces brought in so far this summer.

He is happy with the work done, although they remain on the lookout for a proven centre-forward while four players have long-term injuries in Conor Wilkinson, Joss Labadie, Liam Gordon and Oisin McEntee.

“When I look back on the squad last season, it’s nowhere near as good as what we’ve got this season,” said Flynn.

“I’m not going to go into names, but I had a look at a couple of the team sheets from last season, and you look at the bench. It was maybe a strong XI, but you look at the bench and it was very, very weak.

“It was a bit unfair on Matt Taylor because for me, it was nowhere near. It wasn’t big enough.

“If they’d have had the injuries then that we have now, to four potential starters, I think the club would have been in real trouble.

“So, I’ve got to try to avoid that. I’ve got to make the squad good enough and competitive enough to handle that situation.

“You look at it for January, we’ve got four new signings.

“Oisin and Liam aren’t as bad as Conor and Joss. But by January, we could have a very, very competitive squad. We’ve just got to get to there first.”