Walsall sit top of League at the halfway point of the season...
Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge hopes Walsall can continue to prove the doubters wrong by staying at the League One summit.The Saddlers have won five consecutive league matches and sit top of League One heading into 2016.
And Etheridge, who has kept ten clean sheets this season, wants Walsall to stay there.
“We had a flying start to the season and people obviously questioned how long we could keep it up for,” he said.
“And maybe we’ve proved them wrong now we are still up there going into 2016.
“But we are a very good team and we know that, and the confidence comes from the dressing room and the people around us.
“I don’t think any player in that dressing room wants to stand still and be like ‘okay we are top of the league in 2015’.
“We want to be there at the end of the season in 2016.”
Etheridge believes our success this term is partly down to the spirit and togetherness in the Walsall ranks.
“The dressing room is fantastic,” said Etheridge.
“It’s one of the best I’ve been in, if not the best.
“They’re a great bunch of lads - a good laugh on the field and a great laugh off it.
“But when it comes down to a matchday, as you can see, we give 100%.”
And Etheridge, who has gone six and a half hours without conceding a goal, has also thanked the Walsall fans for their passionate support.
“The fans have been fantastic since the start of the season and they keep getting better and better,” Etheridge added.
“It was great to see that even over this busy period, they came out in their thousands against Peterborough to watch and support us.
“It’s a massive, massive help.
“If you look at our games, we’ve scored many goals in the last 15 minutes so that’s a massive credit to the fans for getting behind us and obviously to the fitness staff for keeping us going on the field.”