Neil Cutler has thanked Saddlers boss Jon Whitney for the impact he has had on his career.
Cutler worked with Whitney for five years as a coach at the Banks’s before leaving to take up a new position at West Brom.
And the 41-year-old says he wouldn’t be the coach, or man, he is today if it wasn’t him.
“Jon’s been amazing,” said Cutler, who started his playing career with the Baggies.
“If it wasn’t for him, there’s no way I’d be moving to the Premier League.
“I’ve learned so much from him, not just technically and tactically but personally – about how to deal with things, how to live your life and how to be as a person.
“I’ve grown massively as a person and I now understand the real sports science behind goalkeeping.
“He’s the best in the business – a clever guy and I’ve learned all that from him.
“It has taken my knowledge of goalkeepers to a different level and that’s all due to him.”
Cutler built a strong reputation for developing keepers during his time with the club, working with and improving former Saddlers number ones Richard O’Donnell and Neil Etheridge.
He is pleased with the progress current stoppers Liam Roberts and Mark Gillespie are making – and has tipped the former, who produced a man-of-the-match display in our last game, for a big future.
“I’m very proud because all the goalkeepers I’ve worked with have bought into the philosophy and work ethic,” Cutler added.
“They’ve understood it and believed in it. It’s all credit to them for believing in what we do and how we do it.
“We’ve all done very well – Richard O’Donnell, Neil Etheridge, Craig MacGillivray. Now we’ve got Robbo and Gilly who are buying into the philosophy and both improving.
“I spent four or five years with Liam and he’s done really well. To leave on a high with him getting man of the match and playing so well in the last game was fantastic.
“It showed what a person he is and what a goalie he is going to become.”