Martin O’Connor: Walsall need a complete reset

With just two games of the campaign remaining, the Saddlers sit four points from safety in League One with relegation looking highly likely.

Whatever happens, it’s sure to be a busy summer at the Banks’s Stadium with the club having started their search for a new manager, while a host of out-of-contract players are set to depart.

And O’Connor believes the club needs the close season to assess the direction within which it is heading.

“I think we need to reset the philosophy of the club,” he said.

“It is going to be a busy summer and I think the person who is sitting here next season should have a clear philosophy of where they see the club going.

“I think the club have got that idea but it’s who they can bring in to get that ball rolling.

“I think it is about recruitment, it is about getting confidence back into the team and it is about getting pride back into the town and the football club.

“It is going to be a major rebuild, let’s be fair about that, but I think it can happen.

“Unfortunately we find ourselves in a position where things haven’t been going right for a couple of seasons now.”

From mid-December to mid-February, Walsall went on a run that saw them lose 10 of 13 matches.

And O’Connor believes that poor spell has had a major impact on the confidence of his players.

“We have under performed since before Christmas,” he said.

“Looking back on results and performances and it has been an ongoing thing.

“We haven’t been able to address that thoroughly and professionally and stop the rot if you like.

“I think confidence is a big thing in football, it doesn’t matter what you do Monday to Friday, it’s all about what you do at 3pm on a Saturday.

“You want the players to step up and unfortunately we have seen performance levels that aren’t good enough to win football matches.”