Positive Sadler not worried by Walsall statement

Walsall head coach Mat Sadler said "it's not my job to worry about that" following a statement from the club's board last week in the midst of their stuttering promotion challenge.

The Saddlers have seen a four-point lead at the top of League Two in December whittle away into a 14-point deficit behind current leaders Bromley, slipping from first place to ninth in the process.

Their run of one win in eight league games since 26 December has seen them drop one point outside the play-off places and led to the board to announce last Friday they were "aware of the urgency to improve results".

In the build up to Wednesday's game at Grimsby, Sadler was asked about his take on what the board said.

"It's not my job to worry about that," he told BBC Radio WM.

"It's my job to make sure the players see me, win, lose or draw as exactly the same person.

"My role is doing exactly what we've done for the last three and a half years through scrutiny, through every single part of that."

"The belief I have in the players and their willingness to work all comes though me. If they see me get too high when we're winning, then they will get too high. If they see me too low after losing then they'll get too low.

"It's my job to purely focus on the team."

Had last season's promotion capitulation not happened - when they lost a 12-point lead at the top before finishing in the play-offs only to lose in the final - the optics of Walsall's current dip might appear different.

But Sadler was adamant it is unfair to draw parallels with last term, and added he had used the past week to "reset, refocus" and "bring it all back together".

"Every year is tough. I'm certainly not looking back. I never will be because this is a completely different group and team," he said.

"It's not a completely different environment - we get constant reminders about that - our job is to focus on us and not on what anyone else is saying - good and bad.

"I live in a positive world. I recognise where we are, and where we want to get to, and we do that doing it our way.

"Everyone's human and different things happen. Sometimes that edge of uncertainty can affect people. It's our job to bring clarity and a restart."