Walsall defender Liam Gordon ranks Mat Sadler as his "best" manager

Gordon has been an ever-present during Sadler's 18 months at the helm and has made 73 of his 108 appearances for the club under the current boss. 

The Guyana international has previously opened up about Sadler's support during his knee injury at the start of his Saddlers stay.

And Gordon feels that his man-management and the "human element" that he brings to his management style separates him from anyone else.

He said: "The best especially his man-management. Me and the gaffer a lot and outside of being a good manager, he is a good person as well. 

"Whenever he sees my mum come to the games, he always speaks to her and asks about my family. He does that with all of the boys because he also realises that it's not just football, you've got a life outside of here. 

"He has that connection with us that allows us to be ourselves. It's tough for all the other boys who're out of the squad but he's just transparent and will speak to them every Friday or every Thursday to let them know what's going on and his plans. 

"That's what you need as a player when you're going through that time of uncertainty or when you're frustrated." 

Walsall have undergone a remarkable transformation over the past year after a difficult start to the Sadler era. 

Back-to-back wins over fellow promotion hopefuls Notts County and Port Vale respectively propelled Walsall into the League Two top spot last week. 

The Saddlers, who sit two points clear at the summit with a game in hand, will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to 10 league games when Barrow visit Bescot this afternoon. 

Gordon maintains that he always had full belief that the work behind the scenes would bear fruit and that he would not want to experience any moment in his career more than right now.

"This time last year Barrow were near to the position we are now so you can see how quick a year can change things in football," he reflected.

"But I always believed we'd be in this position, I always trusted in what the gaffer was going to do. That was a big reason why I committed to the club.

"I can't say there is any moment I'd rather be in than where I am now but it's still early on. 

"We've got a long way to go and we're just going to focus on the next game coming. These are moments that some people go throughout their whole career and never experience. 

"Even to be in this position now and we've still got five months of the season to go. So yes we're going to enjoy the moments that we are in but never get too far ahead of ourselves. 

"Never get too high and never get too low. That's my motto about life because it can all changes within minutes."