Danny Guthrie to ‘pick and choose’ his Walsall games
Danny Guthrie is prepared to work with manager Darrell Clarke to ‘pick and choose’ his Walsall appearances next season to stave off injuries.
The 33-year-old has proven himself to be a useful commodity in the Saddlers midfield, when he stays fit.
Last campaign Guthrie suffered a hamstring injury and a recurring hip problem, which limited him to 28 appearances, but he’s now prepared to tackle a compressed schedule.
“It is (about managing myself), that’s right – and I’ve got the perfect gaffer here to do that with me,” he said.
“We had a chat about that. There’s going to be a lot more Tuesday midweek games this year so we’re going to be sensible and we’re going to pick and choose the games. It might be three a week, it might be two a week for me.
“A big thing with that was that I knew the gaffer, he’s sensible and would look after me that way, because the last thing I want to be is on the treatment table, the last thing he wants is for me to be on the treatment table. I knew that going somewhere else, I wouldn’t have that relationship and I wouldn’t have that trust and it was one of the reasons (I stayed) as well. I can’t see myself going to the gaffer and saying ‘I think I’ll sit Tuesday out’.
“It’s going to have to be the gaffer that does it. Because if you play on a Saturday, you play well and you win, you want to play Tuesday.
“You always think that you feel OK, but the gaffer’s going to have to be the strong one, because if you ask me to play I’ll say yes. So it’s going to be the gaffer that makes that decision.
“We all have to be sensible, the medical team as well, it’ll be really difficult for me to pull myself out but I trust the gaffer to make the right decision.”
