Butler spent the end of last season on loan at Blackpool

Walsall defender Andy Butler says he has seen enough from his new team-mates to suggest they can escape the drop from League One.

Tuesday's defeat at Sheffield Wednesday left the Saddlers at the bottom of the table, eight points adrift of safety.

"The lads are good players and they all want to do well for the manager," Butler, 27, told BBC WM.

"They don't want to hear the manager getting chants of "Hutchings out", he's a good manager."

Butler was picked up as a free agent by Walsall earlier this month after being released by Huddersfield last summer, and the former Scunthorpe centre-half has weighed up the situation at the Banks's Stadium pretty quickly.

It takes that meeting to spark a few lads into realising where we are Andy Butler

"Chris (Hutchings) is not going to rant and rave at you on the pitch, he lets you calm down and concentrate on the football."

The Saddlers playing staff have held a behind-closed-doors meeting in a bid to turn around their season, and Butler feels it was productive.

"It sometimes takes that meeting just to spark a few lads into realising where we are, how important it is not just for us but the manager and the club as well, and the fans.

"We need to just concentrate on getting the results now."

Walsall have a break from their league programme on Saturday when they travel to Torquay in the second round of the FA Cup.

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