Martin O’Connor says the Saddlers must focus solely on beating Shrewsbury and not worry about results elsewhere.
Only a victory at Greenhous Meadow will give the Saddlers a chance of avoiding relegation from League One.
At least two other results – in the games involving AFC Wimbledon, Southend, Plymouth and Scunthorpe – must also go in our favour.
But O’Connor insists we can only concentrate on getting a result against Sam Ricketts’ Shrews.
“From our point of view, it’s about focusing on what we do and what we can affect,” said O’Connor.
“We can’t affect other results.
“All we can do is give it our best against Shrewsbury and hopefully the powers that be look upon us and give us another year in League One.
“Other results go for us, fantastic. If they don’t, we’re disappointed and we’ll have to lick our wounds.
“It’s about putting a performance in against Shrewsbury, who are safe now.
“They’ll want to relegate us and win because it’s a local derby. It’s all to play for.
“It’s a great game to play in. But we have to play with our heads as well as our hearts.”
Despite the pressure on the game, O’Connor will be telling his team to play with the same freedom they showed in the impressive 3-0 victory over Peterborough.
“We told them to go and play with freedom, not to be scared to make mistakes,” he added.
“Modern-day players, I think some of them are afraid to make mistakes.
“The meeting before the game against Peterborough was just go and play with freedom, with a smile on your face, go and enjoy it.
“The belief we instilled, we wanted a confident and shackle-free performance and I think we got that from 11 players.
“The fans, if you show you’re having a go and fighting for the cause, they’ll back you. I know the Walsall fans well – I speak to most of them every day.
“It’s something I’ve tried to instil in the boys, that they have to play with pride and hopefully we can do that on Saturday.
“If we do produce our best form, we’ve got a chance of winning the game.”