No squad overhaul at Walsall for Dean Smith

With the League One season drawing rapidly drawing to a close, the Saddlers boss says he has a clear picture of what needs to doing to his squad - and already knows how he wants it to look at the start of the next campaign.

Smith will sit down with his out-of-contract players after the final game of the season to discuss their futures but appears keen to maintain the majority of the current squad – which he feels is only a few players short of being top six material.

"I have a number of players out of contract here which I will be addressing in the next couple of weeks," he said. "I have the spine of a team which I think is really good here.

"I don't think it is going to take an awful lot for us to be a top six team next season and that is what we are looking to do."

Deals have already been done this season to secure the services of James Baxendale, Sam Mantom, Paul Downing and Richard O'Donnell.

While talks with skipper Andy Butler – who must choose whether to extend his current deal by a further year – are ongoing, Smith will also sit down with several key players whose contracts are set to expire.

Among them are top scorer Craig Westcarr, full-backs James Chambers and Andy Taylor, while Ben Purkiss and Nicky Featherstone are others who have also seen significant playing time.

Smith rejected the notion some players might be playing for their futures over the final two league games, revealing he's as good as decided who to keep and who to let go.

"It would take one hell of a lot for something to change my mind over a player now when I have seen so much of them," he said.

"Someone would have to go and do something drastically wrong or drastically right to change my mind.

"I have never been one that goes along with the idea of playing for contracts at the end of the season.

"As a manager, I know enough about my players to make judgement calls and know what I want to do and how we want to move forward with them."