Chris Hutchings is feeling the heat

Under-fire Walsall manager Chris Hutchings has admitted he is feeling the heat but challenged his players to harness the pressure.

The Saddlers have plunged into the League One relegation zone following five straight defeats ahead of tonight's trip to Leyton Orient.

Lose and, if other results go against them, they could sink to the bottom – leaving the season in crisis just nine games in.

Supporters are losing patience with Hutchings and some called for his dismissal during the 2-1 defeat at Hartlepool on Saturday, but the manager reckons they can hit back.

He said: "I always put myself under pressure and my assistant Martin O'Connor does as well but the players have got to start doing that themselves – you've got to respond to it.

"There are always a few home truths whether you win or lose, but we've got to make sure we get a result tonight because we don't want to lose seven on the bounce.

"We want to be doing better than what we are but saying that we've got to get on with it – it's simple."

Hutchings threatened changes after their woeful run but won't rush into knee-jerk decisions despite some high-profile mistakes from his side.

He said: "They are not little errors because they are very costly.

"We've got to eradicate the errors and make sure people do their jobs because if they don't then they won't get back in the team. That's got to stop and it's got to stop quickly.

"Your emotions run high after games, we'll take stock and pick out what we can from it and pick a team to get a result tonight."

But Hutchings, still without injured trio Darren Byfield, Steve Jones and Richard Taundry, knows whatever side goes out tonight must perform following a wretched second-half display at Hartlepool.

A win would see them leapfrog their hosts ahead of another crunch clash with Yeovil on Saturday.

The Walsall boss said: "We've got to go to Orient which will be a tough game and we've got to make sure we get something out of it, because we've got to stop the rot. Otherwise it makes it a long week if that doesn't happen.

"If you have a game coming up you want to get something out of it and that's our main aim now."