Chris Marsh: Dean Keates knows how serious this is at Walsall

Walsall simply have to get a result against Bradford on Saturday.

It’s the most important game for the football club in a long, long, time.

If we don’t get at least a draw I fear for us – I really fear for us.

Lose and we are in big trouble – and that is very difficult for me to say.

It’s difficult because it’s the club I love. And it’s difficult because of my mate Keatesy. But both Keates and the players are now at the stage where they have to stop this rot, if they don’t it will only end one way.

Deano knows that. The players know that. And everybody, absolutely everybody, now has to perform.

As regular readers of this column will know, it is now Coventry City who pay my wages. But it was still difficult watching the game last weekend.

It was a convincing 3-0 win for the Sky Blues. And the margin of victory could have been greater. Sat there watching it though reminded me just what a tough job Keates has.

I was looking at the players we have on loan at Coventry. We’ve got Dujon Sterling from Chelsea, who is a youngster on the fringes of their first team.

We’ve got Luke Thomas from Derby, who is one heck of a player. And we have the player who made the difference on Saturday, Bright Enobakhare. My question is why aren’t Walsall in the market to sign players of that quality?

You look at Enobakhare and he appeared 26 times for a Wolves team that walked the Championship last season.

Why didn’t Walsall go for him in the summer? Instead, they signed Connor Ronan from Wolves and he struggled on loan at Portsmouth last year.

It all comes down to money and that is where we have to remember Walsall’s manager – whoever it is – has one hand tied behind their back.

The owners at Coventry come in for a lot of criticism. But they back Mark Robins. They give him the tools he needs to do the job. And that’s what we saw on Saturday. Quality shone through, but Cov are shopping in a different market to Walsall.

The one pleasing thing for me is that the board did allow Keatesy to bring in Martin O’Connor this week as a coach.

Martin is his man, it’s his appointment, they go way back. And I think it’s a shrewd signing to the backroom team.

Martin is a new face to the group, he’s a legend and he’s also one of the best midfielders I ever played with.

What O’’Connor brings to the club is immense. He is a fantastic coach, he has some excellent ideas which will freshen things up.

But he is also a fantastic person off the field, I love him to bits.

O’Connor is an infectious character but he is also fearsome – you have to have that as a coach. I wish him all the best. His arrival is needed because something had to change.

Hopefully, the appointment has been made just at the right time and we will see a very different Walsall at the weekend.