Chris Marsh: Walsall need to add goals to their squad

And while there have been some promising signs in pre-season, there is no doubt the squad still needs to be strengthened.

Darrell Clarke has said himself he has 15 players who he believes can be a force in League Two. But that is not enough. He needs strength in depth.

And the top of his list has to be a striker.

My big worry at the minute is whether there are enough goals in the team.

It’s a squad full of forward players with a point to prove. But now they have to deliver. Walsall are relying on them to have a good season. We saw the issue with squad strength at Notts County.

Clarke was delighted with his side’s performance for an hour. But players cannot play every minute of pre-season.

You have to build up your fitness. And after making changes, we lost 2-1. It’s easy to get fixated on results. But in pre-season they don’t tell the whole story. And the only thing that matters is the performance at Northampton on the opening day.

You can win every friendly and start the season terribly. You can lose every friendly and start like a house on fire. It’s all about the season proper. And that’s why fans shouldn’t worry about the 5-1 loss to Villa.

It’s a friendly that been played for donkeys years. I remember coming up against them in the first ever game at Bescot.

But when you take on a Premier League side you realise they have a bit of everything. The players are one step ahead, both physically and mentally.

I was often on the losing side. But it never dented my confidence. All it did was inspire me to be better. And I think you have to have that in pre-season.

It’s no good just playing against non-league sides every week. If you do that you don’t learn anything.

You need different tests. You need to play against teams where you will have a lot of possession.

And you need to play against sides who will dominate the ball so you can work on things.

The truth is playing Villa now is like me getting into the ring with Tyson Fury, there is only going to be one winner.

But you still learn. And hopefully Walsall have learnt everything they need to for the trip to Sixfields next weekend.