Sadler knows Walsall cannot let season 'peter out'

Walsall have to start producing results "really quickly" if their League Two promotion push is not to peter out, according to head coach Mat Sadler.

Only one win since 26 December has led to the Saddlers dropping from the top of the table to 10th, three points outside the play-off places.

That run has led to the pressure building up on Sadler, who has remained both defiant and positive, in the midst of the flak he has received from fans concerned that a second successive promotion bid is going off the rails.

"The supporters want to see the team, their team, showing what we've shown over a long period of time since I've been in [charge]," Sadler told BBC Radio WM.

"But we haven't shown that in the last four weeks. We haven't shown that consistently enough.

"So from their point of view, we've got to give them something to shout about, which more often than not we have done."

Walsall travel to in-form Shrewsbury Town on Saturday hoping to end their current run of seven games without a win.

"It's up to us to reverse our momentum now," Sadler said.

"At the moment we're in a tough run of form, but we've got to return to form really quickly because we don't want the season to peter out. We don't want it to be a season that promised so much and didn't deliver.

"And as it stands with the way the table is, a couple of games in hand, all that sort of stuff, the season's all there to play for.

"But the season will only be all there to play for if we reverse our momentum, if we get back playing how we've expected each other to play. We haven't done that for four weeks.

"The proof will be in the pudding. There's no point me saying that and we don't produce.

"So it's up to us to produce when Saturday comes, and we've got a squad who've done it before for us."

Sadler had two spells with Shrewsbury as a player and has watched their transformation away from relegation trouble under new head coach Gavin Cowan with interest.

Walsall travel to Croud Meadow attempting to stop Salop winning a sixth league game in a row.

"Gav's done a great job. They've got a real connection between players and the supporters and the staff," Sadler said.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for us to go into the form team of the division and take them on and that's the challenge.

"They've got that momentum, but it's up to us to turn ours back the other way."