Grimsby v Walsall - Match preview
Walsall will look to harness the power gained by a dreamy December, as they target a third straight league win when they travel to Grimsby Town on New Year’s Day.
The Saddlers collected five wins from their last six in all competitions, and amassed 12 points from a possible 15 in League Two.
Their recent upturn in fortunes have propelled them to within just five points of the play-offs.
Walsall started the previous month with back-to-back victories over Notts County and Tranmere Rovers, and concluded the year by responding to their pre-Christmas defeat at Accrington Stanley with a pair of wins over Crewe Alexandra and Wrexham.
“What we’ve shown in the last month is what we’re all about and what we’re building towards,” Sadler declared. “I’ve spoken loads about building and I’ll continue to do it.
“We’re building towards something here. We want more nights like Friday, we want those nights to come back to the football club.
“And we are working so, so hard to have more of those evenings as a club, as a group, as a team, as a staff, as everybody together.
“I want the supporters with us together united, fighting in the same direction as each other.
“It’s a powerful thing when we’re like that, and this is a powerful place for people to come when we’re like this.” Grimsby have undergone their own transformation since Paul Hurst, who managed Sadler at Shrewsbury Town, was relieved of his duties at the end of October.
The Mariners have lost just twice in nine league games under interim boss Shaun Pearson and newly-appointed manager David Artell.
Artell previously inspired Crewe to automatic promotion into League One in 2020, and guided Grimsby with a 3-0 victory at Salford last time out. That result sent them 10 points clear of the bottom two, and Sadler insists his side need to repeat the standard of performance set in recent weeks at Blundell Park.
“David has come in and done a great job as they we knew he would,” he observed. “They play good football, they had a great result (against Salford), but we have to show what we’re all about again.
“The division is all about repeat. Be consistent, working relentlessly hard, and we’ve got a group of lads that want to do that. It’ll be a completely different challenge on New Year’s Day and one we’ll have to be ready for.”
Joe Riley (knee), Ryan Stirk (ankle), Oisin McEntee, Ross Tierney and Aramide Oteh (all hamstring) are set to be unavailable for the trip to Humberside, whilst Jamille Matt is a doubt.
McEntee is set for a number of weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, while Riley, Stirk and Tierney are forecast to return when Walsall travel to league leaders Stockport County on January 13. Oteh is expected to return from his three-month lay-off towards the end of January.
