Walsall smarting at Phil Brown's claims

Boss Jon Whitney plans to use Phil Brown's words against him when Walsall host Southend tomorrow.

The Saddlers enter the clash looking to build on their impressive performance in Tuesday's 2-1 win at Gillingham – significantly boosting their hopes of winning automatic promotion.

Last week, Shrimpers manager Brown sparked controversy when on television he claimed Walsall were dropping 'like a stone.'

He backtracked on the comments yesterday, when he described the Saddlers win at Gillingham as one of "the best performances I have seen this year."

But Whitney still believes the criticism will motivate his players, saying: "What Phil said will be a motivator for us.

"Dropping like a stone? We're third in the league, five points off second and with a game in hand – if that's dropping like a stone in the dictionary then he can use that term.

"But I couldn't find it in the dictionary. But I know Phil. Sometimes you look back at interviews, reflect and it wasn't really what you meant to say."

Having been so impressive in their victory against Justin Edinburgh's Gills earlier in the week, Whitney admits his players can't wait to return to action.

The interim chief continued: "We are simmering at the moment – we wish we could kick-off today but we can't.

"The players want to be back out there but what we have to do is keep them simmering and not let them get too carried away."

Whitney is hoping to have Tom Bradshaw (groin) and James O'Connor (calf) in contention for tomorrow's clash.

He added: "James trained yesterday and Tom is being assessed. He is just a bit fatigued but we are giving him as long as we can to freshen up.

"Jimmy is available and we hope Tom will be part of the squad. But it's going to be very hard for them to get back into the starting line-up, which is a great problem to have."