George Dobson offered no excuses after our 3-2 defeat by fellow strugglers AFC Wimbledon, admitting the second half was “simply not good enough”.
Goals from Jack Fitzwater – his second in as many matches – and Julien Ngoy put the Saddlers 2-0 up at half-time.
Efforts from Joe Pigott and Lyle Taylor drew the Dons level before Dean Parrett crashed home a 96th-minute penalty winner.
The result leaves Walsall 19th, just three points above the drop zone.
Dobson has demanded a reaction next week against Scunthorpe – and says the players must “give everything” to ensure we stay in League One.
“The boys are disappointed but we’re fuming as well,” said Dobson, the sponsors’ man of the match.
“We put ourselves in a position we should never have put ourselves in.
“First half, we came out and played the way we have wanted to play, but we can’t understand what we’ve done [in the second half].
“It wasn’t good enough for the fans, and for us in general as players, to play the way we did. At this time of the season, it’s simply not good enough.
“We’ve still got it in our own hands, which is the main thing.
“This is a sucker-punch and we need to come back next Saturday at Scunthorpe and react in a positive way.
“We need to make sure we give everything because none of us want to be in League Two next season.
“We are going to give everything for the club and the team to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
When asked what went wrong in the second half against Wimbledon, Dobson responded: “People always say 2-0 is one of the most difficult scorelines when you come in at half-time.
“They changed formation and we didn’t adapt.
“We conceded one and we caved in - that’s something you can’t do.
“After the first goal, we just didn’t get out.
“We stopped everything we were doing in the first half and we didn’t put any of that into action in the second and that’s what has ultimately killed us.
“We’ve let ourselves down massively but we’ve still got the opportunity to make it right and preserve our place in League One.”