Jon Whitney believes tired legs bothered Walsall
Walsall boss Jon Whitney felt tired legs played a major part as Walsall fell to a penalty defeat to Coventry in the Checkatrade Trophy.
After the two sides played out a 2-2 draw at the Banks’s Stadium, it was the Sky Blues who held their nerve in the shoot-out to secure a bonus point in Northern Group E.
Joe Edwards and Dan Agyei – who had earlier pulled Walsall level in stoppage – missed from the spot for Whitney’s men.
And the boss felt his team showed signs of fatigue following a gruelling run of fixtures.
“I thought we saw some tired legs,” Whitney said.
“We knew it when we picked the team and when this game came about.
“It’s probably a game we didn’t need with the big game against Shrewsbury at the weekend.
“We have had call-ups and injuries. You look at Jon Guthrie, he has played every single minute going right back into pre-season.
“The effort was there but we have had some jaded legs. We were not in a position where we could change eight or nine.
“I’m glad it’s out the way and we have to do everything we can now to get our energy back and recover.
“We need to sleep well, eat well, it’s all about mind-sets now because we have got a great chance at the weekend to stop the train of Shrewsbury.”
The clash against the Sky Blues ensured Walsall continued their run of failing to keep a clean sheet this season.
And Whitney accepted the defensive record is not good enough.
“The defensive record is very disappointing,” he said.
“It’s not good enough. We have individuals making mistakes. But we are doing our utmost to get on the training pitch to try and put things right.
“But with the games we have had in September, it has been an incredible load of games, it’s been difficult to get on the training pitch.
“But on Thursday we need to get on there and do enough without tiring them out too much.
“As a group we have got more than enough to come through this little spell. We went on a four game unbeaten run with some good performances and we need to go back to that.”
