Saddlers entertain Fleetwood at the Banks's tonight...
Jon Whitney is hoping we can equal a 27-year Banks’s Stadium record when we take on promotion-chasing Fleetwood tonight.Whitney’s men have won six straight matches on home soil – beating Sheffield United, Bristol Rovers, Northampton, Peterborough, Oldham and Chesterfield.
Only once since moving from Fellows Park in 1990 have we recorded seven straight home league victories – a feat achieved during the 2006/07 League Two title-winning campaign.
And Whitney says we will have to work hard – and handle the expectancy – if we are to equal the stadium record tonight.
“We are aware of the record and we have spoken about it,” said Whitney. “But we know if we want to have these records we have to work for them.
“It’s great we have done well at home. As a manager you want your home supporters to be entertained. It’s great for me, but it’s the lads that take all the credit for the run they have had.
“Now they have to deal with the fact they are expected to win at home - but that’s a great place to be.
“The fans have lifted the place, just like they did towards the end of last season when I was interim manager.
“Now, as a group, we are going to make sure we are in every game. If anyone is going to take anything away from the Banks’s, they are going to have to fight and be at their best.”
Looking to halt the Saddlers’ winning home run are Uwe Rosler’s Fleetwood.
The Cod Army are second in League One but saw their 18-match unbeaten streak ended by promotion-rivals Bolton on Saturday.
“I actually thought they played really well,” Whitney commented. “They dominated long periods of the game and got done by some poor defending – similar to us when we played Bolton.
“Bolton are a big, physical team who cause problems at set-piece but Uwe won’t get too down about that and they’ll be looking to bounce back.
“They are still in those automatic promotions slots and he will be telling them now to start another run.”