Sean O'Driscoll: I won't always be a gambler

Sunday's 2-0 win over Port Vale could not have worked out much better for the new Saddlers boss.

On top of the victory and three points which moved his team back up to second in the League One standings, O'Driscoll saw one of his first major decisions at the Banks's pay-off in some style as Jordan Cook, introduced as a 60th minute substitute with the game scoreless, proceeded to net both goals.

O'Driscoll later voiced hope the decision – and the manner in which it affected the the game – might help him earn the trust of players who, understandably, are still getting to know the new man in charge.

But he admits such moves will in future always be dominated by circumstance.

"You've made substitutions before and you lose the game but we did it for the right reasons," he said. "We did it to try to win the game.

"We'll make other substitutions not to lose a game but at this stage with games in hand and points to play with in some senses, if you're going to gamble this was the time to gamble. I felt the two centre-backs would struggle against two quick players and it changed the dynamic of the game."

After a whirlwind few days of negotiations followed by his appointment and then Sunday's game, O'Driscoll is, for the first time this week, getting a closer look at his new squad as they prepare for Saturday's game at Millwall.

Moving forward, the head coach is keen to stress the need for balance, most notably when it comes to style of play.

The 58-year-old has, mainly through his work with Doncaster, long had the reputation for coaching teams easy on the eye. It is one of the chief reasons he was seen as an ideal fit for the Banks's hot-seat.

Yet when that point is put to him, it elicits a somewhat blunt response.

"I'm trying to work out what, when people say we get the ball down on the ground and play, that actually means?" he said.

"My own teams in the past have been classed as teams that play football and you think, well, why is that?

"Sometimes getting the ball down and trying to play is the wrong thing to do. Sometimes it's the most important thing to do. So I think it's trying to get that balance right as you go in to every game.

"When you should play, when it's more imperative to keep the ball rather than give it away or doing the right thing rather than the easy thing.

"That's the key for the players. We're not going to outspend anybody in this division so I'd like to see if we can out-think people.

"If we can do that then we can hopefully play a style of football that incorporates everything."

Above all else, O'Driscoll's message is one of steady progression. He knows there is not too much, at this point, which needs fixing.

"I have not come into a team that needs radical change," he says. "I'm sure if Dean and Richard were here they would have expected to beat Port Vale. It was just nice to win and to have something to build on."