Walsall boss Darrell Clarke feels his team will need to be aggressive, competitive and respect Barrow as a team ahead of tomorrow’s meeting.
The Saddlers will be looking to extend their unbeaten league run to 13 games and will be aiming to pick up their first away win of the season when they take on David Dunn’s team.
Barrow are 21st in Sky bet League Two but Clarke feels Dunn’s side have been unlucky not to have earned their first victory back in the EFL and insists he won’t be taking them lightly.
“They’re unbeaten at home this season,” said Clarke. “They’ve drawn four games and it’s a tough place to play Barrow, I’ve played there as a player.
“We’ve got to give them the respect they deserve because they’ve been very unfortunate not to pick up a win in those eight games from what I’ve watched of them so they’re certainly no mugs and deserve to be in this league on merit as well so we will have to go there and compete, be aggressive with our competitiveness and play the football we’re capable of playing.”
“David (Dunn) did a bit of agent work and I spoke to David when he was an agent and as a coach as well. He’s getting his opportunity.
“Unfortunately he’s had Covid but he looks like he’s coming back from that on Saturday which is good and his health is good so I’m sure they will be more than fine from the games that I have seen this season so far, they’ve been a little bit unfortunate so we need to make sure we take care of our performance and give Barrow the credit they deserve but we’ll make sure we’ll go and do our jobs.”
One strength the Saddlers have shown, particularly this season is their ability to adapt to different situations and different formations.
Clarke praised his players for their flexibility and believes it is an important attribute to have in the squad.
“It’s recruiting a squad that’s capable of adapting,” explained Clarke.
“That’s important that players can play one or two different positions. We’ve probably got one of the smallest squads in the league when I look at a lot of the squads that are coming in each Saturday, especially with three or four first-year and second-year pros in that group but we’re certainly an adaptable squad and that always keeps the opposition on their toes.”
You can watch this tomorrow's match against Barrow live on iFollow. Match passes are still available for £10 here.