Walsall players will return soon

All members of the Saddlers squad will head to their Essington base on June 27 as Keates looks to ramp up his preparations for the new campaign.

So far Walsall have added two players to their ranks this summer with Andy Cook and Josh Ginnelly both arriving following their impressive form for Tranmere last year.

And Keates – who kept the club in League One last season after replacing Jon Whitney – is confident there will be more additions before training restarts.

“The players are back on June 27 and I’m looking forward to working with them,” he said. “I’m glad we’ve got two deals done – they are two I wanted.

“And hopefully we’ll have got a few more deals done by the time we report back.

“The players have been away and been working on their individual programmes.

“The close-season is not like it was when I was a player when you got eight weeks off. You would end half a stone overweight and battling the bulge. Now it’s about propping you up and getting back to full speed.

“For a couple of weeks I told the players to switch off. They needed a physical and mental break. But now they are working to their programs in preparation for coming back in.”