Walsall must perform for boss Matt Taylor

The Saddlers host Stevenage aiming to bounce back from last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Hartlepool and a performance Taylor admitted left him “disappointed and a little bit angry”.

A midweek without a fixture has, the head coach believes, provided valuable time to regroup. In addition to spending more time on the training pitch, Taylor has also spoken at length to his squad in a bid to restore confidence after a return of just one point from the opening four League Two fixtures.

He said: “It has been a tough week for the players. I was disappointed and a little bit angry with the performance last Saturday.

“I just felt we didn’t perform well enough in the areas which require zero talent. That really disappointed me.

“We spent a lot of time talking as a group, they spent a lot of time listening. The players have worked harder this week than they have done previously and I think that was needed. They have had time to reflect, as we all have. Now the pressure is on them to perform and that is the nature of the business.

“What I won’t allow is for the players to become less confident. I know we have not got the results we wanted so far. But I believe we are a good team with good players. It is imperative that together as a group of people we continue to be confident.”

Taylor, appointed in May, has overseen a large-scale overhaul of the playing squad and though obviously disappointed with the slow start to the season, he remains keen to stress the rebuild is only at the beginning.

Asked how he could ease the burden on his players, he replied: “It is about stating the facts.

“Yes, we are four games into the season and we have not won yet. But the performances on the whole, other than last Saturday, have been good. The chances we have created has been good.A lot of the pressure comes from the players themselves because they are so desperate to succeed.

“The truth is they are good footballers. The truth is also that we have a new group, who are just starting to understand the club and the way we want to play.

“If you don’t feel or have that pressure you are not human. At the same time there has to be such a belief around the place the pressure becomes irrelevant.

“Players put expectations on themselves and sometimes if you don’t meet them straight away you feel like you have failed, but you haven’t.

“We would all like a nice steady ascent to where we want to get to but life is not like that. The main thing is you get where you want to go. We know where we need to be and where we want to go. What we need to do now is plot a slightly different route than we would have wanted. But that is sport.”

Skipper Joss Labadie (quad) and forward Tyrese Shade were both due to be assessed today as they near a return from injury. Rory Holden (knee) remains out.