Saddlers visit Charlton this weekend...
Jon Whitney is aiming for more points on the road as we look to continue our push up the League One table at Charlton on Saturday.The Saddlers' home record has been exceptional of late, with Tuesday night's 2-0 victory over Chesterfield our sixth in succession at the Banks’s Stadium.
But Walsall have only managed three away wins in the league this term and, despite some good performances, have not yet won an away game in 2017.
However, the Saddlers have been resolute on the road, keeping clean sheets against promotion-chasing Scunthorpe and Millwall.
And the manager is hoping this solid base, combined with the confidence from back-to-back home wins over Chesterfield and Oldham, can propel the team to victory at the Valley.
Whitney said: “If we are going to be more consistent, we have to try and get more points away from home.
“It’s nice we’re going to Charlton on the back of two wins.
“We’ve been really solid but I think now, with where we are at the moment, we can try and go and see if the home teams can stop us scoring goals.”
Charlton grabbed a much-needed three points on Tuesday, edging out Scunthorpe with a last-gasp penalty winner.
That result ended a run of eight games without a win for Karl Robinson’s side, and Whitney knows they could be a dangerous prospect.
“We have to be really compact; we can’t just go away and be gung-ho,” said the Walsall boss.
“Especially at Charlton, they’ve just got their win now so the pressure’s off a little bit for them.
“We’ll respect them but I think even more so now, it’s a belief that my players have got in themselves.
“I think we can now really start to step up again and, instead of just going to nullify their threat, see if they can cope with our threats.”
With two wins and two clean sheets in the last week, the Saddlers are on a high.
And Whitney wants to capitalise on the momentum generated by this excellent home form.
The 46-year-old said: “The biggest thing for me is the energy and the enthusiasm that we’ve got at the moment.
“Game management, that comes with experience and comes with playing together over longer periods, which is why you end up getting more points and more consistent performances.”
“We’ll be looking at being more compact and organised, but we still want to break with a tempo, try to create opportunities and put them on the back foot.”