Walsall midfielder Liam Kinsella getting back to his best

Kinsella admitted at the start of the season he wasn’t reaching those levels when the team itself was struggling for form and results were not good.

The 26-year-old has spent his entire career at Saddlers and has made well over 200 appearances for them, becoming known as one of the club’s elder statesmen despite being well short of his 30th birthday.

Kinsella said because of that, and the change in personnel over the summer, he might have let the pressure get to him.

He said: “At the start of the season I probably wasn’t reaching the standards I normally set myself – maybe there was pressure because the team weren’t winning and performing well but

“Being at the club so long, I would like to count myself as a leader.

“I am probably not as vocal as I should be but I try and show it in my performances and it probably wasn’t there early on, but when your team-mates play well it helps your own performance and I think now we are showing consistency all round. We also have a manager now who knows what it takes to be at the top and knows the league very well.

“He has brought in players with experience, from teams who have won promotion before.

“With the young lads we have got as well there is a nice mix.

“It puts us in a good place to be there. The boss always makes sure spirits are high whether we are winning or losing and we have been through both this season.

“We had a lot of players come in during the summer.

“The gaffer got what he wanted through the door. It is about building toward what he wants in terms of the style of play. I think you can see that now. We are starting to show it.

“At the start of the season the performances were there, we just weren’t getting the results. I think there was a bit of bad luck, conceding late on and throwing away leads.

“But I think you are seeing now we know how to hold on to a lead.

“The performances are there and we are getting results we deserve. We are climbing up the table, the play-offs aren’t far away.”