Alex Pattison on Darren Byfield advice as he hopes Walsall winner will prove "lift-off" moment

The 28-year-old shone on his league debut in a 3-1 win at Tranmere Rovers in January, but lost his place in the team in the latter stages of former head coach Mat Sadler's reign. 

He set-up Albert Adomah's second goal during the Saddlers' 3-0 win at Crewe Alexandra and produced another bright cameo from the bench in a goalless home draw against Cambridge United last week. 

'I know I've got it in me' - Pattison reveals Byfield's advice

And he capped a man-of-the-match display with an assist for Daniel Kanu and a stunning last-gasp winner on his first start in seven games against Newport County on Saturday.

"When he took over and got the job, he got me in and showed me some clips of my defensive recovery runs," Pattison acknowledged. 

"He wanted me to nail that down and that was maybe partly a reason why I wasn't starting in those games. 

"Because he said we know what you can bring, but you've just got to switch on in those moments defensively. 

"I think I've done that in the past few games and took that on board. You could probably see in my performance that I was trying to run around everywhere to bring that energy, create chances and defend. 

"That's what I want to be - a box-to-box midfielder and scoring goals. I just wanted to keep playing how I did [against Newport] because I know I've got it in me."

Pattison has previously been honest about his initial challenges at Walsall and his desire to put together a consistent spell of form. 

He now hopes that his dazzling display on the weekend coupled with his first goal for the club will serve as the lift-off moment for him at Walsall.

"I need to be consistent and keep those performances up. Obviously it's hard to play well every game but I will give 110 per cent whenever I got out on the pitch," he continued.

'We've got to maintain those performance levels'

Byfield has collected seven points from a possible nine to help reignite the Saddlers' play-off push during his short stint as interim head coach. 

Rico Browne has seized his opportunity at right-back and Aden Flint has produced the perfect response to being left out of the team with two solid displays from the bench. 

Pattison has also proved a point in recent games and believes the squad is full of strong personalities.

"People are disappointed not to play but the reaction from everyone is a given because you can't sulk," he added.

"If you do and you're not at it then you'll get found out. Everyone who hasn't started but has come on have been brilliant. 

"The second half performances - especially in the last two or three games - have been excellent. Everyone has played their part and we've just got to maintain those performances levels."