Walsall defender Ben Purkiss urges end to gloom

Ben Purkiss urged Walsall to forget the "doom and gloom" and admitted he is baffled by some attitudes towards the Saddlers.

The right-back called for an end to the view the club are just happy to survive in League One after two years of struggle.

The Saddlers are on a four-game unbeaten run ahead of Saturday's trip to Portsmouth and Purkiss said it's time to look forward. He said: "I don't understand why there's doom and gloom. I'm not going to say we're going to get promoted but we have good players and we need to believe in ourselves.

"The front six – the midfield and strikers – are young lads with some real potential. We have people in charge who allow us to express ourselves and there's no reason why we can't push on."

The loan window has re-opened with the club confirming they will back Smith. But Purkiss doesn't believe the boss needs to splash the cash because he has already proved he can dig out potential.

"It's about doing your homework and I think they have proved they can get a couple of players from the lower divisions," said the former Sheffield United and Hereford defender.

Portsmouth's administrators have confirmed that they have received a bid from a Middle Eastern consortium thought to include former owner Sulaiman Al Fahim.