Bescot Banter: Walsall need to find their form

Those two statistics alone tell you all you need to know about how the month of November went for the 'Boys from the Banks's'. A win, a draw and four defeats saw the Saddlers exit both the Emirates FA Cup and EFL Trophy - adding to their departure from the Carabao Cup on the opening day of the season - whilst also slipping a few places down the league table.

Winning just two of their last sixteen all-competition matches, Clarke's side are in dire need of a return to form and, simply have to get it together during December if they are to make it out of the calendar year with anything to show for their troubles.

Along with the general lack of goals, and with it attacking endeavour, has been the steady increase in individual errors. With, as mentioned last week, the players occasionally playing like a group of strangers clubbed together at the last minute rather than a team which, for the most part, has been together since the start of last season.

Whilst Liam Roberts was the player at fault during Tuesday's draw with the Exiles, the Walsall-born stopper dropping a clanger to hand Newport an equaliser just two minutes after Elijah Adebayo had given us the lead, he is far from the only player at fault, with several repeat offenders amongst the squad.

With seven games taking place between now and the turn of the year, the Saddlers will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves capable of learning from their mistakes. With fixtures against several teams in and around mid-table there is still light at the end of the tunnel.

However, a continuation of their current form, and we'll not only be confirming at least one more year in the fourth tier of English football, but also increasing the possibility of a drop even further down the pyramid. Something which we'll all want to avoid.