Mat Sadler looking to emulate former manager in quest for Walsall success
Mat Sadler has warned patience will be required in his plan to bring success back to Walsall.
The Saddlers host Forest Green today sitting 16th in the League Two table after a run of four matches without a win.
Sadler, appointed head coach in the summer, remains confident his work will bear fruit in the long run and is using the club’s last truly successful era, under Dean Smith, as his blueprint.
Smith built a team which came within a whisker of winning promotion from League One in 2016, having taken the reins five years previously when they sat in the relegation zone.
Sadler said: “I’m really, really bullish about building something at the club. I think if I go back or all the supporters go back to when this club was last successful it was when we built over a good few seasons.
“I’m obviously highlighting the Dean time, I was part of that, we grew and built and that’s when we were last successful. That’s the prototype I’m going to be following as we build towards being a successful team.”
Walsall have recorded four consecutive bottom half finishes since being relegated from League One in 2019. Sadler is their fourth permanent head coach in that period.
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