Ronan Maher hopes Rushall Olympic loan will pay off with interest
Walsall youngster Ronan Maher believes his loan spell at Rushall Olympic will leave him in good stead for the future.
Maher joined the Pics on loan in August and has started eight of his 11 appearances across all competitions.
Rushall have been on an extraordinary journey with an unprecedented promotion to the National League North last season, and Maher is determined to help them keep defying the odds.
"They have been on a fantastic journey. They've had a lot of teams and managers in this league think that we're going to get relegated," Maher explains.
"Chorley and Brackley are two teams you'd expect to be in the play-offs or go up, and we've beaten them both.
"It's really positive at the moment. The main aim of this loan has been to get game time and to get used to playing men's competitive football at a decent level.
"That can only help me and leave me in good stead in the future."
The 18-year-old has gone from strength to strength at Dales Lane and set-up two of Danny Waldron's goals in a 5-0 victory over Chorley Town last weekend.
Walsall assistant Darren Byfield was in attendance and was impressed by his performance, which earned him a place in the National League North Team of the Week.
He then consolidated that display by assisting Waldron for the decisive goal against Brackley Town on Tuesday night.
Now, Maher wants to continue to developing the relationships he is building both on and off the field, including with top scorer Waldron and ex-Saddlers midfielder Sam Mantom.
"I am really enjoying playing out on the left side. The ball can get put out to me and it's just me versus the full-back," he reveals.
"It's a 1v1 and it's interesting to find different ways of beating your man whether I get across them, or as I did on Tuesday, drive inside and send a reverse pass into Danny.
"I've built a really good chemistry with Danny. All of my assists have been for him and we've been linking really well.
"And I usually sit next to Sam in the changing room. I've only had a few conversations with him about his youth days and how he came up through the West Brom ranks, and then went to Walsall.
"He has got lots of experience in the professional game and I will keep talking and learning from him both on and off the pitch."
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