George Dobson: I’m so sorry for Walsall relegation

The Saddlers’ 12-year stay in English football’s third tier came to an end following a 0-0 draw at Shrewsbury on Saturday.

Walsall actually started the campaign with a 10-match unbeaten run – which included taking 13 points from their opening five league matches.

But by December their form dropped drastically, with the team going on to lose 17 of their last 26 games – a run that included just four wins.

“I know how much the fans are hurting and I just want to apologise because it wasn’t good enough,” Dobson said. “The way we started the season we should never have been in this mess and it’s unacceptable to think we are. It just should not have happened.

“I can only thank the fans for all the support they have given us throughout the season. I know they are hurting and we are hurting as well because we know it hasn’t been good enough this season.”

Dobson believes a spell from January through to April – where the Saddlers lost 11 of 14 matches – was ultimately why they dropped out the division.

“The last two games we actually played well and kept two clean sheets,” the midfielder continued. “We played very well against Peterborough. And the second half against Shrewsbury, we played well.

“We didn’t get relegated on Saturday. It was the patch into the New Year where we just didn’t collect enough points against the teams around us.

“If you look at our fixtures in January and February, we were against all the teams in the bottom eight but the results were nowhere near good enough.

“That is what has killed us. The problem is that when we lost a game we then didn’t win in six or seven and you just can’t do that.

“Teams that stay up, they go through tough patches where they lose three or four but then they will get a win.

“But we didn’t do that. A few times we had spells this season when we didn’t win for seven or eight games.

“You can’t do that. It’s not acceptable – and as a player that’s what really hurts.”