Whitney warning for in-form Walsall

The Saddlers travel to take on Gillingham tomorrow having beaten MK Dons and Doncaster and drawn at Blackpool in their last three outings.

That run has seen Whitney’s side move six points clear of the relegation zone.

But after conceding two late goals in the 4-2 win over Donny, the boss has warned his players they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas.

“We can’t allow anyone to get complacent,” Whitney said. “It’s a balancing act now. We will reinforce and show the players what we have done well.

“But we’ve also seen when we come away from the basics, then we are not as influential on the game.

“Even against Doncaster, when we came away from putting pressure on the ball – it allowed them to get crosses into our box. It was too easy.

“Of course the last three results are a positive. But we cannot be complacent – we’re 15th, six points off the bottom four.”

Gillingham were 22nd in League One when they sacked former manager Ady Pennock back in September.

But they have been resurgent since Steve Lovell came in as boss with the Gills now sitting 12th in the table.

And Whitney admits he has been impressed with the job the 57-year-old has done at Priestfield.

“Steve has turned things around there really well,” he continued.

“They are on an incredible run.

“From speaking to Steve, he has been on their staff for a few years now and he is a really grounded fella.

“He has a good sense of humour and I think he has relaxed the players and taken the pressure off them.

“You can see they enjoy playing and in those early stages, he got results by hook or by crook which builds confidence.

“They are probably the in-form team at the moment. But that’s good for us.

“They are only four points ahead of us and we are looking to peg them back.

“They change formations, they are happy to play different ways. They are in a confident, buoyant mood but so are we.”