Darrell Clarke's Walsall honesty a boost for Liam Roberts

The 25-year-old academy product was criticised by his manager after Carlisle’s late winner on December 29 looped over his head – before going on to put in several impressive performances.

And Roberts insists that his manager’s honesty is allowing him to learn and improve in the Saddlers net.

“He’s a very truthful guy and that’s what I love about him,” he said.

“He’s passionate for the game, he’s passionate for us and it kind of fuels you to show him what you can do, he knows how to get the best out of you at times.

“I was disappointed with my performance (against Carlisle), and I’ll hold my hands up for that game, but you need to react from it.

“You need to learn from it and hopefully in the last couple of games I’ve tried to show that I’m still learning and I’m still improving.

“He’s got it down to a T.

“If you’re not performing you know yourself, it doesn’t have to take the gaffer to come in and say this – you know if you’ve performed or if you haven’t.

“I think I’ve done well, but there’s still things in my game that I need to improve on.

“It’s not about ‘look at me and how well I’m doing,’ it’s about what I can knuckle down on to make sure I become even better for the team.”

Meanwhile, Zak Jules has also praised Clarke for his open approach while the defender had a spell out of the side.

“He’s been fine (with me),” he said.

“Since I came in he’s made it clear that he wants to help me develop.

“It’s not all about now, even though I want it to be now.

“I want to play now, every week.

“But he made it clear it’s not just that, it’s also long-term.

“He’s been totally honest and he’s made it clear it’s nothing personal, it’s football.”