Alfie Bates: I need to keep up this Walsall standard
Young midfielder Alfie Bates believes he has set himself a standard to stick by with an impressive performance as Walsall earned a point at Newport County.
The Saddlers bounced back from four consecutive losses with a display worthy of three points against League Two leaders Newport – who had won all six of their home league games ahead of kick-off.
Despite missing last week’s loss to Cheltenham Town due to suspension, after two yellow cards against Southend United, Bates was thrown back into the mix for a superb 90-minute showing.
Now, the 19-year-old is adamant he must maintain that level this season.
“This is the standard I set myself every game,” Bates said.
“If I come off the pitch and haven’t played the same way, I’ll be disappointed.
“It was disappointing from me on a personal note to get sent off against Southend but I decided I wanted to bounce back and show everyone what I’m capable of.
“We’re all honest lads in this team and if we don’t play well we’ll say it to ourselves.
“As we have shown, by bouncing back, the last game was rubbish and we came back flying against the top team in the league.
“We went toe-to-toe and should have beaten them.
“We’ve had a few bad results but we stuck together and wanted to bounce back.
“We did that and should have taken the three points. But we’ll take the point and move on.”
Despite an error from goalkeeper Liam Roberts handing Newport an equaliser, the Saddlers had chances to net again – with Emmanuel Osadebe coming closest from close-range.
For Bates, it was key that the team attacked Newport early on and did not sit back.
“We said in the changing room that we wanted to give them a good game and really go after them,” Bates added.
“They had a 100 per cent win record at home and we thought we could upset them.
“We’re a side that creates a lot of chances in most games and we just need to be more ruthless.
“One day we’ll come and score three, four, maybe five goals and just obliterate a team.
“We’re a tough team to beat and that’s shown in the results. “
Meanwhile, Walsall manager Darrell Clarke was left impressed by Bates’ performance but insists the teenager can only get better with his increased responsibility this season – with 16 appearances already to his name.
“He’s a second year pro, 19 years old, and I think he’s had one of his best games this season,” Clarke said.
“We all know about Alfie and I thought he levelled out a bit this season but he’s a 19-year-old kid.
“We’ll keep working with him.
“He’s a tremendous talent that has tremendous more improvement in him.”
