Dean Smith urges Walsall to stay on top
He watched his side return to the top of League One with victory over Gillingham. Now Walsall boss Dean Smith has challenged his players to stay there.
Saddlers looked to be heading for successive home defeats when a Cody McDonald goal and Bradley Dack penalty put the Gills 2-0 up on Saturday.
But quick-fire strikes from Kieron Morris and Milan Lakovic turned the match on its head, before Jason Demetriou smashed home a stoppage-time winner.
The game was the second time in a month that League One's top two sides had met at the Banks's.
Walsall defeated Burton in the previous meeting of the high-flyers but they lost their place at the league's summit a week later following defeat to Chesterfield.
Smith said: "We're back on top of the table and now it would be nice to stay there.
"We beat Burton and now Gillingham and we are up there for a reason – we have good players, who work very hard for one another.
"It's a third of the way through the season and we are contenders. Our intention at the start of the season was to win the league.
"I have never shied away from that – that is what the supporters deserve and it wouldn't be right if we weren't trying to do that.
"When you are competing with the likes of Wigan, Sheffield United, Coventry City and Millwall it is very difficult.
"But it's us that are top and that does mean something. To see ourselves, Burton and Gillingham up there is great and shows how competitive League One is.
"We are doing something right; we just want to make sure we are consistent and that we stay there."
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Smith, who is yet to pick the same side for two games in a row this season, also had praise for his players for the way they have accepted that it's a squad game.
In total, 20 different players have taken to the field in Saddlers colours this season, with new recruit Isaiah Osbourne yet to make his debut after picking up a knee injury.
The 44-year-old said: "I have got tough decisions to make, at the moment, but that is what I am paid to do as a manager.
"Against Gillingham, Andy Taylor missed out and Craig MacGillivray as well with Neil Etheridge coming back in.
"Kieron Morris also came in for Anthony Forde, who did well against Barnsley and Colchester.
"The last top of the table clash we had – against Burton – Liam Kinsella grabbed the winner. But, against Gillingham, he wasn't even on the bench.
"That is the quality of squad we have at the moment. But what's nice for me is that the players are acknowledging that it's a squad game – it's not just about the 11 players that start.
"They know if they are on the bench that they have to be ready to come on and make a difference."
