Walsall boss Jon Whitney: Draw was a fair result

In front of just 3,404 fans at Bloomfield Road, the Saddlers twice took the lead through Joe Edwards and Jon Guthrie.

But on each occasion, they were pegged back with Nathan Delfounseo scoring in the first half and substitute Armand Gnanduillett then netting with an 88th minute strike.

Walsall though scored with their only two attempts on target while Blackpool saw three efforts cleared off the line – with Guthrie twice and Jack Fitzwater performing heroics in defence.

“The lads are disappointed because when you concede that late on it always feels like I loss,” Whitney said.

“But I think in the grand scheme of things it was a fair result. They put us under pressure at times. They were direct.

“But I can’t fault the application and the work effort from my players. We’ve come away from home and got a good solid point which we can take into our home game.

“We are disappointed. But it’s about pushing on now. We can’t take too long to get over it because we have a game on Tuesday against Doncaster.

“We are going into it two games unbeaten so let’s go and make it three.”

With Blackpool the more adventurous team over the 90 minutes, Whitney again faced calls from the travelling support for him to be moved on.

But the boss says he can handle the chants that come his way.

“We had a great following,” he continued.

“I was glad they were here and I was glad they were showing their emotion.

“I have said before, it’s when there is no emotion that we have to worry. They pay and they come up and I’ve got give huge credit to the fans.

“With the weather as well, it would have been very easy for them to stay at home and think it wasn’t going to be on.

“I’d like to thank each and every one of them. If they want to sing against me that’s fine. But I still think one day they will sing in a positive way for me.”

Whitney made a surprise selection ahead of kick-off with Erhun Oztumer only named amongst the substitutes. But the boss said he felt Walsall’s top scorer needed a rest.

“It was always the intention to give him (Oztumer) a rest,” Whitney added.

“I spoke to Erhun and he has looked a little bit jaded. He puts in a big shift for the team. It’s not just about his attacking play.

“He understood. Of course, everyone wants to play. I have got a full squad that wants to play. I’ve got a really strong bench.

“But from watching Blackpool and knowing their strengths, I felt we applied our game plan really well, although we are disappointed with the two goals we conceded.”