Hayden White: Walsall ‘hurt’ by poor show against Salford

Coming off the back of a poor loss to Colchester United on Saturday, the Saddlers continued to dismay supporters with a lacklustre display on Tuesday night.

Manager Brian Dutton accused his side of lacking fight throughout the game and White agrees – insisting the poor showing was down to the players.

He said: “They are a good side but with good sides like that you need to match them physically and we didn’t do that.

“That’s the first thing you learn as a boy, you have to fight to win games.

“If you don’t match the opposition’s fight, especially with the quality they have in their team, you will come out with results like this.

“The boys are hurting. It’s the players, that result is not down to the manager.

“The set up has been great, the training has been good, and once you cross that white line it’s down to the players to go out there and perform.

“That’s not on the manager’s back. I know he picks the team but that performance was well below everyone’s standards. We have to get back on the training ground, carry on working and try and rectify this result.”

Dutton revealed after the game that Rory Holden is having further appointments this week to look at his knee and whether he can play again this season.

The attacking midfielder is a major cog in Walsall’s attack and played a huge part in consecutive wins before these latest two losses. Dutton admits that without Holden his side struggles and again took aim at his side for not doing enough.

When asked what the difference has been in the last two results, Dutton said: “Rory Holden is the reason why, him in our team would have made the difference.

“That’s shocking that I’m having to say that one man is the difference between us being a good team and a very average team, but it’s the truth.

“Every game that we’ve won this season, other than one, he’s been in the team and starting. Stats don’t lie on that one. He’s the difference-maker and we miss him severely when he’s not in the team.

“But being outfought and outwitted shouldn’t be happening, that’s lads not having personal pride when they cross that white line. We can’t hide behind Rory Holden on that one, it’s a long, hard look in the mirror.”