Martin Devaney hints at Walsall stay

Loan star Martin Devaney has hinted he wants to stay at Walsall after admitting his future at Barnsley is hanging by a thread.

The winger inspired the Saddlers to a 2-1 win over Exeter on Saturday - ending their eight-match winless streak and pulling them out of the League One relegation zone.

And the debutant is keen on extending his loan at the Banks's Stadium after a match-winning performance.

He said: "I want to play games and hopefully I will get them here and show what I can do.

"It's one month initially but if everything goes well, the team are winning and I'm playing, so why not longer?

"We'll see how it goes. Saturday was magnificent but there's going to be ups and downs over the next few weeks.

"A lot of people raised their eyebrows and asked 'why are you going to a team bottom of the league when there would have been other clubs?'

"But it's a challenge, I'm up for the challenge and Chris Hutchings has great experience as a manager."

But the 30-year-old knows his Oakwell days are numbered under Mark Robins after being frozen out since the manager took charge last year.

He added: "It has been difficult as I felt I had a good pre-season and did very well, but no matter what I did Robins seemed to shut the door in my face.

"I'm here to prove to myself and to him that I can still do it. We'll see, but at the moment he's let me go out on loan so it doesn't seem too bright.

"I've been stuck at Barnsley for a while and I've been itching to get out.

"This opportunity came about and there's no point sitting around if you're not being given a chance and I needed to get into people's minds.

"Saturday was great, to get Man of the Match and an assist means I can be a flea in Robins' ear."