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Club News

Walsall will be a test: Coley

27 September 2018

Club News

Walsall will be a test: Coley

27 September 2018

John Coleman is on the hunt for the first clean sheet of the campaign at high-flying Walsall.

After battling relegation last season, the Saddlers have had a good start to the new campaign, sitting in fifth place with just one league loss.

The Reds have yet to chalk up a shut-out and, while Coleman says it's not playing on their mind, he knows it's one to tick off.

“I think that's the one thing at the moment, we can't seem to keep a clean sheet,” said Coleman.

“We have got our first home win of the season and I think our performances at home have steadily improved.

“We didn't perform as well as we could have against Gillingham on the opening day and then we improved against Charlton, Burton and Scunthorpe but couldn't find that killer touch to win the games.

“We performed well on Saturday to beat AFC Wimbledon and a clean sheet is the next thing.

“It's a mixture of organisation, luck and concentration and it's something we are focusing on in training although it's not playing on our minds.

“Last season we won a lot of games 1-0 as we got the goal and then had the belief to keep it tight at the back. We also knew, if teams were chasing the game and on the attack, that we had the firepower to catch them on the break.

“Then again, if we win all the games 2-1 so be it!”

The last time Stanley played at the Bescot Stadium was in 2007, they lost 3-2 with Paul Mullin and Robbie Williams on target. Dean Keates, Walsall's boss, scored in that game.

“I don't think we covered ourselves in glory in that game, it was our first year in the league,” said Coleman.

“Walsall have done well, they have some good players and we know the way they play but they can probably say the same for us.

“They are doing well this season but it is an open league, people might not have expected them to be up there, they might not expect us to be in ninth place and it was like Shrewsbury last season, they surprised many. Expectations don't matter, it's how you perform.”


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