Walsall Head Coach Matt Taylor has been impressed with the professionalism his players have shown during an uncertain period.
With matches against Swindon Town, Northampton Town and Bradford City all postponed, the Saddlers haven’t been in action since the 3-0 triumph over Colchester United on Saturday 11th December.
The players have continued to work hard on the training pitch during this unusual period of time without matches.
Taylor has been pleased with the way the players have applied themselves and have utilised the extra time on the training pitch to good effect.
“What we’ve tried to do is use this extra time that we’ve now got on the training pitch to reaffirm our core values both with and without the ball,” Taylor said.
“It’s given the players extra time that they wouldn’t have had previously on the grass to train. Spirits are high, we’re fortunate that during this period at the moment that we can still carry on training.
“We’re really lucky with the training ground and how the club was set up with COVID and the restrictions and it’s been very easy for us to fall back into those measures.
“It’s imperative we keep everybody safe but the players have been exceptional in terms of their attitude towards coming in and continuing training.
“We know that this is an ever changing landscape and every day we seem to get more news on what’s happening and how things are changing but all I can say from my perspective is the level of professionalism towards keeping themselves safe, their loved ones, their families safe and also coming in and training really hard, I’ve been really pleased with them.”
While it’s been frustrating not to see the Saddlers in action, the break in games has meant players who are carrying injuries have been able to focus on returning to fitness without missing too many matches which Taylor sees as a silver lining under current circumstances.
“It’s something that’s allowed us to get some extra training into players that maybe needed to be up to speed but also the players that were injured and have been injured for a period of time, this obviously gives them slightly longer to get back into training with the group,” he commented.
“We’re in relatively good shape on that front at the moment. We’ve got a couple of injuries but the players, the ones that are fit, they’re training really hard and we’re getting to a point where we’re starting to reintroduce players back into sessions as well.
“At some point the three postponed games that we’ve had up to this point are going to have to be played somewhere else in the season.
“There will be a congested period I’m sure very soon but everyone’s going to have to deal with it, we’re all in the same boat.
“What I will say, at the moment, it’s been a slight positive. It’s given us a chance to get other players back onto the training ground.”