Walsall boss Darrell Clarke says it’s time to deliver with the team set to embark on a busy week of football.
The Saddlers will play three times in seven days, starting with the visit of Bradford City on Saturday.
Clarke has been pleased with what he’s seen in training and with the club’s record of clean sheets so far this season but he has urged his team to deliver more on the pitch.
“The group trained very well but it’s no good being training ground players, we’ve got to put that into performances and it’s time to deliver,” Clarke said.
We’ve got to take the positives out of Saturday, it’s our fourth clean sheet – three in the league already this season so that’s a positive but certainly on our attacking patterns and the way we work, we’ve got to take a lot more responsibility and be a lot better with our final pass.
“I like my teams to be on the front foot, I don’t just want to be sat here as a team who are defensive, yes that is a positive but I want to get our forward play going. It’s time for us all to make sure that we do the things that we need to do better.”
The Saddlers take on Gary Bowyer’s Bradford this weekend.
Clarke insists Walsall fear nobody in Sky Bet League Two but is wary of the threat the Bantams possess and expects them to challenge for promotion this season.
“Bradford will be in the top seven,” Clarke predicted.
“They’ve got the squad, the resources and the support base and I’ll be amazed if they don’t finish in the top seven.
It’s a difficult game; James Vaughan and Clayton Donaldson up top are very much a handful so we know it’s going to be a tough test but I’m sure they’re looking at us and thinking that they’re in for a tough game as well and Walsall.
“I must admit from what I’ve seen in the league so far, I’m not shaking in my boots.
“We’re very respectful of the other team but I don’t think there’s any fear factor at this level.”