Walsall v Accrington Stanley: Saddlers set to benefit from fire power boost
Mat Sadler is delighted to have fresh attacking options at his disposal when Walsall welcome Accrington Stanley to Bescot tomorrow.
Albion forward Mo Faal arrived on loan until the end of the season earlier this week, while Josh Gordon made his ‘second Saddlers debut’ from the bench at Stockport County.
Douglas James-Taylor has scored twice in as many games in League Two, and has played alongside Danny Johnson in the previous three matches.
Walsall have been proactive on the transfer front in response to Freddie Draper’s recall by Lincoln City, and Sadler has revealed that the club were always prepared for the possibility of the teenager leaving.
“It’s always difficult because when you bring anyone in, especially in January, other clubs want them as well,” the Walsall boss said.
“So, it’s hard to plan and then not expect things to always go the way that you want them to. We’ve been fortunate in this window that we’ve got the ones that we wanted.
“The Freddie situation was touch and go for some time. In the end, we needed to make sure that we were prepared for whatever did happen.
“Everything moves on again, and hopefully Freddie does brilliantly for Lincoln and goes on to the next part of his career. Now, we need to adjust and move forward again.”
Walsall face four of their next five fixtures on home soil – starting with Accrington on the weekend.
The Saddlers have lost just twice in 12 home games in League Two, and will be looking to extend their three-match winning streak at home.
Only Mansfield Town (seven) and Barrow (eight) have conceded fewer home goals than Walsall’s nine, and Sadler is determined to make Bescot a fortress.
“We’re delighted to be back at home. We’ve always wanted to make the Bescot a really tough place to go,” he revealed.
“The last home game was a great occasion and they are the sort of nights we want to be a part of. We need to put in a lot of hard work over the next 20 games to bring some of those times again.”
Ross Tierney has trained all week and is expected to be available for selection.
The Irishman missed the majority of November with a hamstring injury, and has not featured since hobbling off again in the comeback victory at Notts County on December 9.
Joe Riley (knee) and Jamille Matt (groin) are nearing a return to action and will be assessed ahead of the game.
Harry Williams (muscle) is also a doubt, while Aramide Oteh was at St George’s Park completing the final phase of his rehabilitation this week.
“He has not been training properly yet. He has been at St George’s Park this week, which is the final part of his rehab, and hopefully he comes into the building tomorrow, and has ticked everything off that he needs to whilst there.
“Then he comes in for probably a mini pre-season with us for the next two weeks. He won’t be in contention yet but fingers crossed he has ticked all the markers this week.”
