Walsall boss Brian Dutton says his side will need to head to Cambridge United with the right attitude as he looks to pick up his first win in charge.
The U’s are currently second in Sky Bet League Two but fell to a surprise defeat to Scunthorpe United in midweek.
Dutton highlighted a large chunk of his young Saddlers squad are still looking to gain more EFL experience and need to become more streetwise as they prepare to face a strong Cambridge outfit.
“Cambridge are off the back of two defeats at home but they’re second in the table for a reason," he said. "
"They were league leaders last week, they’re a very good team, well coached and there’s not a lot of holes to picked in that team but we’ve got to go there with the right attitude and the right attitude is we want to take all three points and that’s what we’ll be working towards.”
“I’m expecting a very tough game. We need to try and get streetwise really quickly.
“You look at our team and we’ve got Alfie Bates who’s made 28 EFL starts, Cockerill-Mollett 12 EFL starts, Melbourne 12 EFL starts, Vincent eight, Wright four, Reid three, Osei-Yaw two, Nolan two and Sam Perry one. We’re very wet by the ears in terms of our squad.
“I think Bradford had 1,300 EFL starts in their team so it’s getting the balance right in terms of getting those boys out there to try and improve them and develop them because they’re the future of the football club and we’ve got to expose them but we’ve got to keep the balance which is getting the experience out there and looking after those young boys whilst bringing them through.
“It’s a difficult task but one I’m sure we can achieve.”
The Saddlers Head Coach will be hoping his team can build on their clean sheet against Exeter City.
He was pleased with the resilience his team showed on Tuesday and has been impressed by their attitude overall.
“The players have been fantastic in training,” Dutton commented.
“Their attitude since I’ve been at the club as Head Coach has been nothing short of sensational. Everything I’ve asked of them, they’ve done. The results haven’t been there but in terms of application for training and preparation for matches, they’ve been first class so really pleased with them.”