"The losses" - Darren Byfield outlines his biggest Walsall lesson from interim stint

Darren Byfield says he learned most from “the losses” during his stint as Walsall interim head coach.

Walsall initially went five games without defeat during his reign before suffering four defeats in the final five games in League Two.

That saw Walsall plummet out of play-off contention and slump to an underwhelming 13th-place finish.

And Byfield, who has now left the Bescot, feels the experience was incredible for his development as a coach - regardless of the way it ended.

Byfield on ‘learning from the losses’

“The losses,” Byfield responded when asked what is the biggest lesson he has learned.

“Swindon - unbelievable performance, but it wasn’t for 90 plus minutes.

“It’s a cruel, cruel game, because for 80 minutes that’s the best we’ve played.

“We were superb and Swindon didn’t go gung-ho in the 81st-minute, but then they did and they threw the kitchen sink at us.

“They put four on our back-line but I knew this was my last opportunity.

“Should I have put another defender on and gone to a back-five like we did against Crewe?

“I was comfortable and I couldn’t see how they were going to score, but then they did.

“A lack of concentration at times, but I should’ve gone to a five.”

Walsall produced wins over Crewe Alexandra, Newport County and Barrow during his spell in the dugout.

But there were also a number of days to forget - particularly a 4-0 humbling at the hands of Cheltenham Town at Bescot.

Those difficult moments were not lost on Byfield who is eager to take forward the lessons learned at Walsall.

“Cheltenham: we were not as aggressive to start with and then we let them get momentum.

“Now we were chasing it at half-time. It’s still 0-0 but do you chase it too early?

“Just wait until we get to the 70th minute. So for me, this has been brilliant and you learn more when you lose.”