Mark Gillespie: Positive start key for Walsall

The Saddlers travel to Gigg Lane for their League One opener where they will face a Shakers outfit who have splashed the cash throughout pre-season.

A busy summer has seen Lee Clark bolster his ranks with 14 new arrivals while 27 players have been moved on.

But while the talk in Greater Manchester is of Bury mounting a push for promotion, Gillespie says Walsall are confident of kicking off their campaign with a win.

“We’re all really excited for the season,” he said.

“We are ready to go. You can play as many friendlies as you want but you can’t replicate that feeling of standing in the tunnel before the league season kicks off.

“At this time of year everyone is setting targets, whether it’s to finish in the play-offs or the top half.

“But we are concentrating on making sure we have a good start.

“That is the most important thing because it then sets you up for the whole campaign.

“The long-term goal is to finish in the top six. But you can’t look too far head. It’s all about the first six to 10 games and putting yourself in a position to build.

“I’ve been in situations where I have had really good starts. I’ve also been in sides where we haven’t started as well.

“I definitely know which is better. We’re all excited, we’ve all put the work in. But it means nothing if we don’t produce results on the field.”

With Bury having been so active in the transfer window, Gillespie believes it might take time for the Shakers to click into gear.

“They have spent a lot of money,” the former Carlisle man continued.

“That is well known across the game. They have gone for experienced players across the league. But at the same time they’ve made a lot of signings so it’ll be interesting to see how quickly they gel.

“They are one of fancied sides to be up there so it’s a good test for us.

“But we are really looking forward to it. It’s the start of a journey it’s really exciting.”

All Walsall signings so far this summer have been at the back with Gillespie joining defenders Nicky Devlin, Luke Leahy, James Wilson and Jon Guthrie at the club.

And the glovesman believes the new-look defence is shaping up well.

“It’s been really good so far especially considering we have all come in from different clubs and not played together before,” he added.

“In the games we have played together I think we have looked solid. Of course it’s early days and you can’t look too much into friendlies.

“But there is an understanding between the two centre-halfs and between the two left sided players and the two right sided players.

“There is a good balance there. They talk to each other a lot and they are all good on the ball. It looks like we have got the ingredients to have a really successful back four which is great for me as well.”