Jon Whitney has challenged his Saddlers team to “make a statement” by ending the season as strongly as possible.
The Saddlers sit 17th with 12 games remaining, five points off the top half and five clear of the relegation zone.
“We’ve got 12 games left to make a statement, starting on Saturday at Southend,” said the boss.
“We have an opportunity now. We’ve got a mini season of 12 games and we are going to try to win every game.
“I understand that’s unlikely to happen, but we will head into every game believing we’ve got a chance of winning.”
Despite losing the last two games – both 2-1 – against table-topping Blackburn and play-off chasing Peterborough, Whitney believes his players can take plenty of encouragement from their performances.
“We can take positives from the second half against Blackburn and a lot of our play at Peterborough, where I thought we were the better team, especially first half,” he added.
“Even when the conditions worsened, I thought we played some really good attacking football and created opportunities.
“Of course we would have loved a few more points, but at least there was the performance to take into the weekend.”
Tomorrow’s opponents Southend have picked up since appointing Chris Powell as manager, collecting 13 points from a possible 15.
Whitney is anticipating a tricky fixture and expects the Roots Hall clash to be on despite the inclement weather.
“They play with high energy,” he commented. “They play a direct style of football and put you under a lot of pressure.
“The weather may play a factor but I think the game will be on. They’ve got an army of fans coming in to clear the pitch.
“We are looking forward to travelling down and will take belief from the last couple of games and try to come away with at least a point.”