Dean Keates: Walsall didn't do enough to win
Boss Dean Keates conceded Walsall didn’t do enough to win after his team was held to a goalless draw at home to Blackpool.
The Saddlers would have registered their best ever start to a season had they managed to beat the Seasiders at the Banks’s Stadium.
But in the end they had to settle for a point following an uneventful encounter in which both teams lacked quality in the final third.
“We picked up a clean sheet - that’s a positive we can take out of it, we’ve been after a clean sheet for the last few weeks and not kept one,” Keates said.
“I think we always looked like we were going to keep a clean sheet but I don’t think we did enough to win a football match if I’m honest and 0-0 is probably fair.
“We were a little bit lacklustre, we didn’t really get going and get a tempo to us.
“When we got into decent areas, the final bit of detail, be it a cross or a pass, just wasn’t there.
“Don’t take anything away from Blackpool, they are a good team.
“They have got some big lads but they still tried to play. We had to make sure we were sorted set-piece wise and we were brave on that because they had bigger lads than us.
“But it was that little bit of detail that was missing – the delivery from a set-piece wasn’t good enough or the run wasn’t right and when we got into decent areas, the cross selection wasn’t good enough.”
The Blackpool game was Walsall’s eighth in 31 days. But Keates refused to blame tiredness for his team not hitting top gear.
“I don’t want to make excuses,” he added.
“We want to try to win every football match. We just weren’t at it. We will learn from it. We did okay but we didn’t do enough to win a football match.
“The commitment was there but when it got to that final ball, it just wasn’t good enough. They are a young squad. We need to learn from it and we will do.
“If you can’t win it, you definitely don’t lose it and I don’t think either team did enough to win a football match.”
Meanwhile, Keates confirmed Walsall have received EFL and FA clearance for the signings of Connor Johnson and Connor Ronan who were snapped up from Wolves shortly before the transfer window closed.
“We got the okay for them just before kick-off,” Keates said.
“They will be two very good additions to the squad.”
