Baxendale ready to face his hometown club...
SADDLERS' midfielder, James Baxendale, has praised the spirit in the squad and is hoping to build on our point from Priestfield Stadium in our last game with a win this weekend as his former club and hometown team, Doncaster Rovers, arrive at Banks's Stadium.The 22 year-old was named in the side who returned from Kent after a 0-0 stalemate and wants to go one better against his former employers this Saturday.
“It was a solid performance by the lads against Gillingham and now we’re back at home against Doncaster, we want to continue where we left off,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to give the home fans something to cheer about ahead of a run of four home games in our next six matches.
“People look at our home form over the past year but we can only go off our last game and we can take a lot of positives from the way we performed at Gillingham.
“As a unit we know we’re solid and compact and I think the way we responded to that Rochdale defeat shows how much spirit we’ve got in the squad.
“First things first it was great to get a clean sheet. Every man stuck to their jobs well and showed great discipline.
“Overall I thought we were the better side and created the better chances and it’s up to us to start putting them in the net.”
The Saddlers ended Preston’s unbeaten start to the season the last time they ran out in front of the home support and Baxendale has called for a similar performance against Paul Dickov’s men.
“We want to make the Banks’s a tough place to come and the only way we can do this is by getting results and building some momentum,” he added. "As for Doncaster, they haven’t quite settled to life in League One just yet, which has surprised me a little because they’ve got a lot of the same players from last season.
“I fully expect them to adjust and kick on up the League - I just don’t want it to start on Saturday!
“The League has showed already that on any given day anyone can beat each other. It must be great for a neutral with so many upsets and goals flying in.
“It’s a testament to League One, but we’ve got to try and find that consistency that we’re capable of and pick up some winning results.”
The Yorkshire-born Baxendale was joined by the likes of Ben Purkiss, Tom Bradshaw, James Chambers and Jordan Cook in training this week as Dean Smith’s injury list finally starts to show signs of shrinking.
“You can sense it in training," he went on. "The intensity level has increased and the competition for places is massive so I think everyone has got to be on their game to get a starting place.”
Saddlers Player subscribers can see the full interview with James Baxendale...