"A lot to prove" - Mason Hancock outlines his Walsall ambitions this season

Walsall left-back Mason Hancock feels he has “a lot to prove” in his second season with the club.

Hancock missed nearly five months with a dislocated knee last term, but returned to play every minute across the final 10 games under former interim head coach Darren Byfield.

The 23-year-old made 20 appearances in total during his debut campaign - scoring his first two goals for the club in a 3-1 victory at Barrow in April.

Hancock “excited” by Walsall under Grant

Now, Hancock is looking to kick-on with Lee Grant at the helm and is excited to show what he can do in his system.

“I’ve done a lot of work on how we see the left-back role playing in a few different structures,” Hancock revealed.

“I feel like I’m suited to all of them, which is exciting and I’ve got a lot to show this season.

“You could say I’m on the senior end of the team now, which is quite scary, but a lot to show and a lot to prove even though it’s my second season.

“I felt like I missed out on a big bulk last season, so staying injury-free, keeping up availability for myself this season and I’m excited to show what I can do in this system.”

“It’s not over until it’s over” - Hancock on lessons learned

Walsall eventually limped to a 13th-place finish during an anticlimactic campaign last term, but Hancock feels that experience has equipped him with the resilience to overcome challenging periods.

He added: “There’s a lot of lessons, both individually and as a team, but the biggest lesson is that it’s not over until it’s over.

“It’s a long season and sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of your end goal when a few things don’t go your way.

“But it’s about always having that end goal in mind and staying together throughout the whole season because it will all be worth it in the end.”