No time to dwell on defeat, says Jon Whitney

That is the message from Saddlers boss Jon Whitney after he saw his side tumble out of the competition with a 2-1 loss to Bury on Saturday.

The defeat ensured Walsall now only have league football to focus on with Whitney’s men having already exited both the League and FA cups in the first round.

But while Whitney was disappointed to be knocked out the Trophy, he has told his players they can’t afford to feel sorry for themselves with Scunthorpe visiting the Banks’s this weekend.

“It’s not frustrating that it’s only the league we have to play for because the league is the most important thing,” the boss said.

“That’s the bread and butter of what we’re about.

“Of course we were disappointed to exit the Trophy. It was a chance for us to get to Wembley.

“But now we have to make sure we really push on.

“The players have got to pick their heads up quickly, we’ve got to be pro-active and dynamic moving forward for Scunthorpe. We can’t afford to feel sorry for ourselves.”

Since Walsall’s defeat to Southend at the end of October, there has been a noticeable shift in playing style from the Saddlers.

Having previously been accused of being too direct, Whitney’s men have moved to a more patient, possession-based game over the past few weeks.

But Whitney says playing that way will sometimes lead to the team making mistakes that will get punished by the opposition.

“Mistakes will happen because we want to play,” the boss continued. “We were punished against Bury. But not every pass is going to be successful.

“The players are trying to step forward and play the kind of football we want to play with that energy we need as well. Bury was a defeat but it’s not in the same calibre as some we have had this season.

“We are trying to do what we see on the training pitch. In the last five games, we’ve had good performances – we’ve won three and lost two. We need to make sure that we keep the performances but turn more of those losses into wins.”

Despite playing well for 70 minutes against the Shakers, Walsall failed to create a chance of note in the closing stages as they chased the game.

And Whitney believes that spell will prove a learning curve for his side.

“I think we started to try too hard and that’s much better than not trying at all,” he added.

“We came away from what we had been doing well because we were trying to force it. But all you can do is show them, they are young players and they will learn.

“Eventually those mistakes become less and less but that comes with experience and games.”