Dean Smith backing Walsall strikers to fire

The Saddlers are likely to be without Bradshaw for the third game in succession at Fleetwood Town tomorrow, as he continues to struggle with a hamstring injury.

That will again throw the spotlight on the rest of a forward line which has so far disappointed whenever the nine-goal talisman has been absent.

Walsall are yet to win a league game without Bradshaw in the side and have drawn blanks against Peterborough and Shrewsbury in their last two games.

But in Jordan Cook, Mathieu Manset and Ashley Grimes, Smith is convinced he has the right men at his disposal and believes it is just a matter of time before they start to prove it.

"I signed Jordan Cook as a forward but he has had two games up there because of the form of Tom Bradshaw," said manager Smith.

"He was outstanding against Crawley, our performance was outstanding and we just needed a goal.

"He played up front against Oldham and scored and could have had a couple more. There are certainly goals in him.

"Mathieu scored at Rochdale in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and is still a work in progress in terms as where we want him to be.

"Ashley Grimes has been unfortunate not to have been on the scoresheet a number of times."

He went on: "Sometimes you have to wait for players to develop and some are later developers than others.

"You can't wait forever but we are only 17 games in."

Smith was keen to stress the burden for scoring goals needs to be spread throughout the side, particularly from those players operating out wide.

The Saddlers are currently the joint third-lowest scorers in League One with just 14 goals.

"If they (the strikers) are not the right people we will go and get somebody in who we feel will be good enough," he added.