THE LAST three games have seen emerging midfield man, Josh O'Keefe handed a starting place in the engine room of The Saddlers' side.

The 21 year-old, who came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers before his summer switch to Banks's Stadium, is hoping that his displays will earn him a regular run of matches. "There is nothing better than playing," he said. "I'm just loving it at the moment and hope to get more games under my belt between now and the end of the season.

"Earlier in the season it was all about getting used to things and settling in, but now it's about establishing myself and playing as many games as I can.

"The fact that Dwayne Mattis is now back in contention will give me healthy competition, so we will have to wait and see what happens."

With the team sitting within the top half of the table, all is still to play for during the 'business end' of the season. "As a team we want to really start to push on now," added O'Keefe. "We don't fear anyone in League One and know that if we perform up to our capabilities we will get a result.

"Saturday's trip to Leyton Orient won't be easy, but we will be doing everything possible to make sure we come home with a positive result.

"We've proved that we can perform against the better teams in this League, but we've not been as consistent as we would have liked and that is frustrating.

"It is important for the team that goals come from all areas and from a personal point of view, I want to start contributing my fair share of goals. I like to push forward at every opportunity and scoring goals from midfield was a part of my game during my days at Blackburn."

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