Darrell Clarke: More change was needed for Walsall
Walsall boss Darrell Clarke admits he wished he made more changes to his side for the clash with Stevenage after their mid-week win over Darlington.
After the 1-0 FA Cup replay win over the North East side on Wednesday, Clarke made three changes to that side for the League Two 0-0 draw with Stevenage on Saturday.
Dan Scarr, Alfie Bates and Shay Facey all returned to the side, replacing Mat Sadler, Cameron Norman and Gary Liddle.
And after claiming the share of the points was a fair result, Clarke said he should have made more changes to freshen up his side.
"I thought we were miles off in the wide areas in the first half," he said.
"We were very ineffective in our shape, they put three high up the pitch and we didn't release our full-backs enough.
"That was disappointing but it sometimes can happen.
"I probably wish I made a few more changes to be honest but I thought I'd go with a bit of momentum and not make too many changes.
"You're forever learning as a manager.
"I see games and I always go with my gut instinct of what I think needs to change.
"I have no problem changing things if I don't think things are working or one or two lads are not having a good game.
"The lads know how I work, they're getting used to the way I work.
"That's the way they've got to work, they have to get used to that.
"And they are to be fair to them.
"There's no scapegoats here, we just get on with our work.
"You have to be brave as a manager to change it if things aren't working well."
Meanwhile, the clean sheet was the Saddlers' tenth in all competitions this season and Clarke praised his squad for their work, but said more was still needed.
“If we assess where we are after the games we’ve played, 10 clean sheets is testament to the hard working nature of the group," he added.
“But we have to be better at times with the tempo of our play and our passing.
“I said to the lads that I feel like I’m coaching them every minute.
“You have to do that sometimes with a developing group but I thought one or two players were way off the game.
“That can happen as well so we’ll pick them up and try and take the positives out the week.
“And build towards a couple of cup games coming up."
