Defender eyes big week for The Saddlers...
James O’Connor will be hoping it’s business as usual, as The Saddlers return from the international break ready for the weekend’s derby game against a struggling Shrewsbury Town.The Saddlers go into the game in good form, with back-to-back wins coming after a gritty win against Millwall and a positive result at Sheffield Utd.
Despite Shrewsbury Town’s performances, O’Connor is expecting a battle on Saturday as the teams prepare to go head-to-head.
Commenting on Shrewsbury, O’Connor said: “Be prepared and expect a team that is highly motivated.
“We’re not going to be taking them lightly, we expect a reaction, and we’ll have to make sure we are ready for whatever is thrown at us.”
With the international break over and two good results, O’Connor is confident that the ten days rest will give The Saddlers the energy to climb further up the league table.
“Both games and both performances were really positive, and it’s a lot easier to go into the break on the back of two positive performances.
“It was important to get three points at the game against Millwall. Then there was a game on the Tuesday, and the lads who needed a game were excellent.
“Some key players were rested and it allowed for the younger players to come through and get a game.”
The league is already heating up and there are only three points separating The Saddlers and The Shrews.
But with one defeat in six matches, The Saddlers go into the game as favourites and will want to pull together a string of positive displays.
“Me personally, I’ll look at every game like I can get a result, but I think you can see how tight it is at the minute, any team can beat any team.
“We’ve got a big week coming up with three games, so hopefully we can get three good performances and take as many points as possible.”