Nick Mashiter's Walsall tour diary

You can't say fans don't care – it's just a shame engines aren't as reliable.

Starved of their footy fix since the start of May, around 50 Saddlers made the 608-mile round trip to Greenock Morton yesterday.

The dedicated, hardy, souls had planned their trip north for a few weeks after the superb Walsall Supporters' Trust laid on a coach – only to be almost thwarted.

They met at the Banks's Stadium at 7.30am yesterday ahead of a gruelling 14-hour round trip but the coach broke down at Junction 9 of the M6 – just minutes after leaving!

Thankfully, after a short wait a replacement arrived and they got to Cappielow Park around 6pm to soak up a bit of sun.

Graham Blakemore, from Walsall Wood, said: "It reminded me of the old days because the coaches always used to break down then!

"We lost a couple of hours but stopped off in Gretna and at the Greenock Morton Supporters' Club so were well looked after."

And Nardia Mason, from Aldridge, added: "It was definitely worth it – it was a great laugh on the coach with a few songs and a bit of banter."

But it was a shorter journey for Allan Duke, who popped across from Irvine to watch the Saddlers.

Duke, who is in his 70s, was on the club's books as a schoolboy in 1952 and travels down to the Banks's Stadium when he can.

His matchdays usually involve a 6am start and trains to Glasgow, Birmingham and the Bescot – before he returns home at midnight.

He's down for the Carling Cup game with Middlesbrough next month, so I hope everyone can salute his years of loyal service and dedication.

The supporters couldn't escape a little ribbing from the stadium announcer, though, as they tried to spark up an atmosphere.

They made themselves heard but as the announcer commended their efforts at the break he quipped: "but with your Midlands' twang, I couldn't quite make out what you were singing."

From the West Coast of Scotland, that strikes me as slightly ironic.