Westlake will now stay with the Saddlers until at least 2012

Walsall defender Darryl Westlake has signed a two-year contract with the club after an impressive first season as a professional.

Westlake, 19, made 24 first-team appearances for the Saddlers in 2009/10 and has been rewarded by boss Chris Hutchings with a new deal.

"I am pleased to get two years," Westlake told the club's website.

"I can't wait for pre-season to get underway and then the matches to start again. My aim is to keep working hard."

Westlake's performances in his first year as a pro won him the Young Player of the Season award and he says last season was a great learning experience.

I felt I adapted well to the step up in standard and working alongside the players in training on a daily basis really helped me Darryl Westlake

"I was delighted with the way it went for me. If I'm being totally honest, I didn't expect to play in as many games as I did and now I want to build upon it," Westlake added.

"I learned a lot about the position last season. The experienced lads really helped me and I would like to think I've developed more of a vocal presence on the pitch.

"I felt I adapted well to the step up in standard and working alongside the players in training on a daily basis really helped me.

"League One is getting tougher every season and it will be a good challenge for us but I firmly believe we can get into the play-off zone and really push on."

Westlake is the latest player to sign a new contract at The Banks's Stadium in recent weeks, following Alex Nicholls, Richard Taundry and Will Grigg.

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