Sadler wants Walsall to get back on 'front foot'

Walsall head coach Mat Sadler says he wants his side to get back to playing "front-foot" football in their bid to keep pace with the race for automatic promotion from League Two.

The Saddlers were held to a 0-0 draw by struggling Crawley Town at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium on Tuesday - their second goalless stalemate at home in a row.

The result dropped Walsall to sixth in the table, two points off the top three.

Despite the disappointment, Sadler said he could not fault his players' effort.

"We had to throw bodies on the line and make blocks and sometimes you have to do that when it's not working exactly how you want it," he told BBC Radio WM.

"That could be a very, very important point as we move forward, who knows?

"It moves the scoreboard on a little bit but not in the attacking sense that we wanted - that's obvious - but I hold on to how hard we worked."

Walsall were one point clear at the top of the table after their 1-0 win over Crewe on 26 December, but only one more victory in the five league games since has them looking up at the top three, rather than down at the chasing pack.

And Sadler knows they need to rekindle what they had earlier in the campaign despite the challenges.

"It's a different time of the season now," Sadler said.

"There's been a few bodies leave and a few come in and it's about resetting how that looks with slightly different dynamics about the team.

"I think that's the job now - putting that back together.

"I think it's fair to say it's been a well-oiled machine for the first 20-odd games of the season and now it's slightly changed.

"So we have to slightly change with it and get back on that front foot and wrestle that momentum back

"These are the dark and tough times of the season and picking up points and keeping the scoreboard ticking over even when it's not looking great, those are the positives we move forward on."