New Walsall boss Sean O'Driscoll: I won't rock Saddlers boat

Sean O'Driscoll vowed not to make wholesale changes following his appointment as Walsall head coach.

The 58-year-old former Doncaster boss was officially unveiled yesterday after signing an 18-month contract. O'Driscoll inherits a side third in League One and which has become known for playing attacking, possession-based football under his predecessor Dean Smith.

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And the new boss, who has previously won promotions at both Doncaster and Bournemouth, has promised there will be no sweeping changes.

"The attraction to this job is that I'm not fighting to change the culture and to install something here." he said.

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"The principles are already in place.

"I am not going to change anything or suddenly make the team something they are not.

"I am just going to try to keep it going. The team is averaging two points a game.

"If it suddenly goes pear-shaped, people are going to look at it and say what has he done differently?

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"The idea is to keep everything on an even keel and try and encourage the players to carry on with what they have been doing."

O'Driscoll has been out of work since leaving his role as assistant manager of Liverpool in October.

But he revealed he was only going to return to the dugout if the right job was offered to him.

"I wasn't actively trying to get back into football," he said. "My name wasn't bandied about.

"You get agents ringing you and saying 'Would you be interested in this? Would you be interested in that?

"But the attraction was the way Walsall play and the philosophy and what has been built here.

"For me, it was the right club at the right time."

O'Driscoll admitted it's strange replacing a manager who has done well rather than one who has been sacked.

But he feels that brings with it it's own pressures.

"It's a different pressure," he added.

"The team have coped really well with losing their manager.

"Now we're trying to make sure the transition between me coming in is as smooth as that one.

"That's what I've got to try to manage.

"I'm not coming here to change anything really, maybe tweak one or two things and move it forward."