Darren Byfield to remain in interim charge at Walsall until the end of the season

The 49-year-old has collected four points from his two games as interim head coach - beating Crewe Alexandra 3-0 at the Mornflake Stadium on Saturday and drawing 0-0 against third-placed Cambridge United at Bescot on Tuesday. 

Byfield was handed the reins after the departure of Mat Sadler last week - who left the club following a run of just two wins in 14 games in League Two. 

That had seen Walsall plummet from the league summit to 11th-place although only three points separated them from the play-off places at the time of his exit. 

The past two results have seen the Saddlers close that gap to two points in a tightly-contested battle and has earned Byfield the chance to take charge for the final eight games.

"I am pleased to share that Darren has agreed to lead the team as interim head coach for the remainder of the season," CEO Ben Sadler confirmed in a statement. 

"We are all aligned that we will be giving it everything to finish the season strongly and push to reach the play-offs - something we all believe we are capable of going on to do."

Ben Sadler also revealed that Walsall are working to recruit a new football leadership position in the form of a head of football, who will sit on the executive management team.  

On that position, he added: "We have for some time been reviewing and considering how we can continue to evolve our football structure to give ourselves the best chance of long-term, sustainable success at the club - which of course is driven by what happens on the pitch.

"This is a key hire and will help us on the ground to continue to drive the delivery of our footballing strategy, along with providing day-to-day leadership and support to all functions of the football department. 

"In respect of progress, we are now into this process and it will be the key priority for us at this time to bring the right person into the club for this role."

The club have begun the process to identify a new head coach which will run concurrently alongside their search for a new head of football. 

"We will ensure that we are thorough and diligent in this crucial work to ensure that the most suitable person for this job is appointed to lead the next phase of our club's development," he added.

"We see the Head of Football as having valuable input into the final decision on the next head coach - so that is the order we expect the appointments. 

"I do not plan to share much by the way of updates on these two recruitment processes over the coming weeks until appointments are made. 

"It's not because there's no work and effort going into this. Quite the opposite, but simply because there is nothing of any meaningful value to say now until we finalise each process and firm appointments are made." 

Byfield returned to Walsall as first team coach in the summer of 2023 where he served under Sadler throughout his reign. 

The Saddlers registered a club record nine-match winning streak in January 2025, but missed out on automatic promotion despite once boasting a 12-point lead at the League Two summit.

They recovered to reach the play-off final which ended in a 1-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Wembley Stadium in May 2025. 

The former striker famously scored the winning goal in the 2001 Second Division Play-Off final, as Walsall beat Reading 3-2 after extra-time under the legendary Ray Graydon. 

In total, Byfield scored 27 goals in 152 appearances across two separate spells at the club as a player.

He launched his coaching career in non-league with the likes of Redditch United, Stratford Town, Walsall Wood and Alvechurch before joining Crawley in 2022. 

Byfield had a spell on the backroom staff at Broadfield Stadium where he also had a brief stint as interim manager.