Boss looking to make a winning start at former club...
SADDLERS’ boss, Dean Smith, is happy with our start to the season as we travel to one of his former clubs, Port Vale, on the opening day before facing home encounters with Bradford City and Yeovil Town.“It’s a very good start,” he said. “This is our local derby and I expect a big turn-out of Walsall supporters at Vale Park to cheer us on.
“We had two keenly-contested games against them last season but unfortunately they managed to do the double over us, so it is time that we redressed the balance and had the bragging rights.
“Hopefully we can go there and start the season in the best possible way by getting a victory.
“After that we face two consecutive home games against Bradford City and Yeovil Town. Whilst it is fair to say that League One doesn’t have the big names this year, there are some solid clubs and I would put Bradford City in that category.
“They have a large fan base and I expect them to be up there challenging, so it is a good game for us to start our home League programme.
“Then we host Yeovil Town who are fresh from their adventure in The Championship last season. It will be interesting to see how they regroup from that and the players that they bring in over the summer.
“The excitement for the new season really starts to step up a notch when the fixtures are released. There are some great games to look forward to and we can’t wait to get stuck into it.
“Things are progressing well in terms of recruitment; we’re closing in on a few more targets and I am expecting some positive news in this respect in the not too distant future.
“I’m pleased with where we are at with this at the moment; things are moving along nicely.”