Boss confident ahead of “West West Midlands’” derby...
Confidence is high for The Saddlers and after a ten day break, Jon Whitney will be hoping his team can get another positive result against an out-of-form Shrewsbury Town.The Saddlers go into the weekend’s derby game in impressive form after back-to-back wins against Millwall and Sheffield Utd. With one loss in six games, the international break will have allowed the team to recoup and regroup ahead of Saturday’s fixture.
Shrewsbury Town currently lie in 23rd place with ten points, but Whitney has urged his team not to take the fixture lightly, and believes The Saddlers will still have to be on their guard during the game.
“We have to respect them for what they’re (Shrewsbury Town) going to bring”, said Whitney.
The Shrews go into the match with two wins in their last ten games. Their most recent result was a two-nil defeat against an in-form Bradford City.
Commenting on the game, Whitney said: “For periods they played really well against a good Bradford team.
“They’ve got something there, it’s just not quite clicking for them at the moment.
“We’ve got to make sure that when it does click, it’s not against us.”
With one game in hand over their opponents and 13 points, The Saddlers return from the international break looking to mimic their last win and continue their climb up the table.
“The confidence is really high, and the team was really buoyant”, said Whitney.
“We’ve lost one in six, suddenly that becomes one in seven. That’s what builds confidence and that is what gets you results. Our game management is starting to show its prowess”.
Whitney’s first game in charge came at Shrewsbury last season, where The Saddlers ran out three-one winners, in what was an important game for both sides.
The Saddlers also beat Shrewsbury in the following fixture that season, and will look to keep their track-record against The Shrews intact.
“We played at the kind of tempo I like, and that is how I like my teams to be, hard working and hard to beat.”