Walsall season preview: Dean Keates will need time and patience

And at the time of writing, Walsall’s squad is lacking quality, experience and numbers.

Fans are understandably anxious. But they have stopped short of pressing the panic button just yet – even if they are perilously close.

There are two main reasons why there is still some hope for the campaign ahead.

The first is that manager Dean Keates has reassuringly said signings will be made this week.

Keates has gone on record to state he wants two centre-backs, a midfielder and a striker.

And he says he has permanent additions lined up in all those areas – as well as loan players on standby in case any of those deals fall through.

Despite the new campaign being just around the corner, the manager would rather wait to try to make permanent signings.

While Walsall have had some great loanees in recent years – Jason McCarthy and George Evans for example – they have also had their fair share of flops.

Julien Ngoy and Justin Shaibu at times looked like they didn’t want to be at the Banks’s Stadium last season.

And that is what Keates is eager to avoid – he wants players that are committed and don’t have the luxury of returning to their parent clubs.

Somehow the 40-year-old is holding his nerve despite everyone around him growing increasingly anxious.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt the boss has found his first transfer window since returning to the club hard going.

Keates has missed out on a number of players through no fault of his own.

The players themselves have been keen to join. But their demands have exceeded Walsall’s wage cap.

And that is what you are up against when you operate on one of the lowest budgets in the division.

Earlier this month, chief executive Stefan Gamble insisted the budget was “competitive.”

But whatever noises come out of the club, it is almost certain to be in the lowest four or five in the division. And that has held Keates back with other clubs able to pay players hundreds more each week.

Nevertheless, there are players out there with the club having made what look to be two excellent additions in Andy Cook and Zeli Ismail.

The other reason fans are remaining hopeful is they know organisation and team spirit go a long way in League One.

Keates – in his short time as a manager – has shown he knows how to make a team defensively sound.

While in charge of Wrexham last season, The Dragons broke the record for the number of clean sheets they had kept in a single season.

And then when he took the reigns at Walsall, Keates had the team looking more defensively sound within weeks.

There is no doubt he is a promising manager.

And after winning three promotions with the Saddlers as a player, the fans love him.

That support from the stands could be the difference throughout the new campaign with Keates sure to need some time and patience if he is to be successful.

The boss was keen to stress last season that a lot of the players he inherited were on two years deals.

If he could, it’s likely he would have moved more people on.

And for that reason, it’s going to be another 12 months before Keates will truly have a team in his own mould.

That means finishing in the top half should be the realistic aim for the 2018/19 campaign.

In League One, that usually means you flirt with the play-offs.

The most important thing though is Walsall are not in a relegation scrap like they were last year.

With nine players having departed in the summer and only four having arrived so far – that is the danger as things stand today.

But while it’s shorter on numbers, this squad arguably has more quality than the one that avoided relegation last year – despite the arrivals being so few. To finish in the top half though, some important players need to be signed and soon.

The Boss: Dean Keates

He won three promotions as a player and also kept Walsall in League One last season.

Dean Keates is adored by Saddlers fans for what he has achieved both on and off the pitch.

But he now faces his greatest challenge yet – building a team that is capable of competing at the top end of the division.

His appointment – following the departure of Jon Whitney in March – is one that has rightly got fans excited.

While his status as a club legend helped, it was the work he did at Wrexham that convinced the Saddlers board to give him their top job.

After keeping The Dragons in the National League in his first year, Keates turned them into promotion contenders the next. And he did it with a solid defensive base that saw the Welsh side secure a club record 23 clean sheets last season.

It is what happened after he left though that shows just how big an impact Keates was having.

Having looked certainties for a play-off spot, The Dragons tumbled down the division and ended up in mid-table.

Keates then managed to keep Walsall in League One – with the team looking more sound defensively just weeks after his arrival.

With club legends Ray Graydon and Chris Nicholl his role models, Walsall look set to be well organised throughout the 2018/19 campaign.

And with the likes of Andy Cook and Zeli Ismail, they have some exciting options going forward.

Most importantly though, Keates – who is from Beechdale – understands Walsall’s fans and the role they play.

He’s got his work cut out, but his appointment is one that could rouse some sleeping supporters and unite the entire town.

The Key Men

Andy Cook

If Walsall are to have a good season, a lot rests on the goalscoring exploits of Andy Cook.

The striker was snapped up on a free from Tranmere having scored a staggering 51 goals in the National League over the past two seasons.

Now he has to show he is good enough to do it in the Football League with Dean Keates set to build his team around the 27-year-old.

Dominant in the air, Cook also holds the ball up well and has drawn comparisons with Andy Rammell. You get the feeling his success and Walsall’s will be intertwined next season.

First impressions suggest he’ll be able to handle the pressure.

Zeli Ismail

Walsall fans were overjoyed when the club re-signed Zeli Ismail.

The winger enjoyed a fruitful loan spell with the Saddlers in League One last season and is undoubtedly one of the most technically gifted players in the division.

Now though the time has come for the 24-year-old to deliver.

For all his talent, Ismail has struggled to put down roots.

But he is now playing for a club close to his Wolverhampton home and in front of fans who already love him.

Ismail has an outstanding ability to go past defenders but he needs to add goals and assists. If he does, Walsall have a wonderful talent on their books.

George Dobson

George Dobson became a Saddlers hero when he netted against Northampton last season.

Fans have watched as the 21-year-old has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, having initially joined on loan from West Ham.

Now though the central midfielder is set to be one of the focal points of Dean Keates’ side.

Dobson has a keen-eye for a pass, is good in the tackle and also gets around the pitch.

In many ways he is the complete midfielder and will now be determined to show he can run games in League One on a regular basis. If he continues to improve at the same rate, he’s player with huge potential.

Liam Roberts

He’s waited a long time for it, but Liam Roberts will finally wear Walsall’s No.1 jersey this season.

Released by the club in 2014, the Saddlers re-signed him a few months later when they realised their mistake.

And now Roberts is one of the brightest goalkeeping prospects in League One.

The 23-year-old was influential in helping keep the Saddlers in the division last year.

An outstanding shot-stopper who is also good with his feet, Roberts’ has also become more commanding over the past few months.

The Walsall-born star should prove to be a brilliant last line of defence.