Corey Blackett-Taylor keen to kick on with Walsall

The 21-year-old joined the Saddlers on loan from Villa back in January.

But it wasn’t until the trip to Sunderland earlier this month that the youngster made his first start for the club.

Blackett-Taylor impressed at the Stadium of Light and retained his place against Barnsley last week – with the winger again catching the eye.

And the wideman admits it took him a while to settle at the Banks’s.

“The whole thing is a new experience for me, getting out of under-23s and playing first-team football,” Blackett-Taylor said.

“I found it hard at first getting used to things. The pace of the game in League One is much quicker than the under-23s. It is also more physical.

“The games are also much more serious – they mean something.

“But now the last three games – starting when I came off the bench against Portsmouth and played well – I feel I have found my feet.”

After biding his time for his first start, Blackett-Taylor is hoping he can now play a big role in the final seven games of the campaign.

“When I came in there were around 16 games left and my target was to start half of them,” he continued.

“It was important I showed something so I was able to start.

“The first few games weren’t those games.

“But Portsmouth was the game where I finally showed something.

“I was glad that performance then led to my first start.

“Now we’ve got seven games left and it would be great if I could play all of them.

“I now want to keep things going.

“I feel if I can get a string of games under my belt my performances are only going to get better and that will really help the team.

“That’s what I’m hoping for between now and the end of the season.”