Dan Scarr hails Walsall's wise heads

The Saddlers have kept a lid on their back line in five out of 10 league games this season and have been praised for their defensive solidity.

And centre-back Scarr, who has started the club’s last three games, says the presence of more experienced players has helped the players around them.

The 24-year-old is now getting a run in the football league after previously turning out for Stourbridge.

“I think everyone bounces off each other. The experienced lads are very good and will try and help you out and things like that, talking about things after something’s happened so it’s good to have their experience,” Scarr said.

“I think the games that we’ve played we’ve deserved a lot more than we’ve actually retained so as long as we play like that we will start getting the points we deserve and that’s why we are calm.

“We’ve been strong defensively and in attack we’ve been a threat and dominated games it’s just the rub of the green hasn’t gone our way.”

Skipper James Clarke, aged 29, and 33-year-old Gary Liddle have played alongside Scarr in recent weeks in a team that has been rotated throughout the season, between three and four at the back.

They hold a wealth of football league experience as they play alongside other younger players such as 22-year-old Zak Jules and 21-year-old Cameron Pring.

“The personnel that slot in there all know their jobs and everyone works together quite well so I think it’s good to be able to change from a three to a four and be versatile depending on what team you’re playing,” he added.

“Whoever comes in, we all work on it in training. We all build partnerships or a three, we work on it in training so everyone feels comfortable whoever’s in the back line.

“I think we all trust in the Gaffer. It’s not going to be a thing where you’ll play 50 odd games, he does like to change it up depending on who we’re playing against or what he feels is right for the day. We trust him and he will change it up if he sees it necessary.

“You’ve got to try and keep everyone happy. Everyone wants to play every game, that’s what being a footballer’s all about but like I said we trust him to pick the right team for the day.

“I think its credit to Duts (Brian Dutton) and the Gaffer. Everyone puts it in and we get support from our midfielders.

“Robbo (Liam Roberts) has been very good as well so we’re starting to take pride in keeping clean sheets and that’s what you need to do as a defender.”