'Important' - Lee Grant hails Walsall's mentality after Colchester win

Lee Grant has said it was “important” for his Walsall team to offer an immediate response following their 3-1 win at Colchester United.

Walsall saw their 11-match unbeaten start in League Two ended by league leaders Salford City at Bescot on Monday night, but returned to winning ways to end a succession of five draws on the road.

Declan Skura opened the scoring after just three minutes, but Jack Payne levelled from the spot after Elicha Ahui upended Moses Sesay inside the box.

The Saddlers had to weather a storm from the hosts, but goals from Aaron Pressley and Courtney Clarke ultimately sealed maximum points late on.

“Always important [to win games] but lovely for the group that on the back of what they can rightly feel like was not quite them in terms of mentality, attitude and energy on Monday night,” head coach Lee Grant said.

“To then come and win away. It’s hard to win away in this division and we’ve found that. We’ve come up against some resolute teams, but to do it and score three goals again.

“That’s eight goals in the last three games, which is really positive, but we’ve just got to keep plugging away.”

He continued: “We keep encouraging the group, so don’t wait for confidence or belief. Just trust that we’re working hard.

“Trust that we’re doing things well and that our structure is good. So go and take action, and that confidence, trust and belief is a byproduct of that.

“We’ve been desperate to tick this box. We’ve found a way to get over the line and it really is all about mentality.”