Walsall defender Mal Benning backed to learn his lesson
Mal Benning was today backed to bounce back from his Stevenage horror show but told he must improve defensively.
The 20-year-old left-back experienced wildly contrasting emotions on Saturday, notching his second career goal for the Saddlers but also making the error which allowed Luke Freeman to score the winner for the hosts.
It is not the first time this season the teenager's defending has come under the spotlight and it had echoes of the 2-1 defeat at Coventry last month, when Benning scored his first career goal but was similarly at fault for the Sky Blues winner.
Boss Dean Smith believes Benning has a bright future, but admitted he must work on his defensive qualities. "It's a learning thing with Mal, he knows he has got to do better," said Smith.
"Going forward at the moment he looks a really good prospect but defensively he has got to get better, he knows that.
"He'll learn. It's similar to when he scored at Coventry and then made a mistake for their goal there as well. It's something he needs to reflect on and get better on."
Benning has been preferred to Andy Taylor in the past two games and Smith added: "Mal's a really good prospect, has a couple of goals this season and has put in some assured performances. He is in at the deep end at the moment, in League One in first team football and mistakes get highlighted. He'll learn and get better for it."
Meanwhile, midfielder Nicky Featherstone is reported to be attracting interest from both Oldham Athletic and York City. Featherstone, who has made 28 appearances this term, is among several players out of contract this summer and will sit down with Smith next week to discuss his future.