Matt Taylor: Walsall signings desperate to prove themselves

The Saddlers did not make any moves on deadline day this past Monday.

They did, though, tie down Rollin Menayese to a permanent contract while bringing in new additions in Donervon Daniels, Reece Devine and Devante Rodney throughout the month.

Walsall also lost Ash Taylor, Otis Khan and Kieran Phillips.

Reacting to January as a whole, Saddlers chief Taylor said: “So, we lost three, and we brought in three.

“In terms of the players we brought in, I’m really pleased.

“As a head coach, you’d always want more players at your disposal, but I’m really pleased with the recruitment we’ve done during the window.

“It’s never an easy window, especially with Covid and lots of different moving parts.

“A lot of the bigger clubs are holding on to players they wouldn’t have necessarily done previously because of Covid and protecting themselves first.

“January’s always a difficult month to recruit well in, but I think we’ve done that.

“We’ve signed players with a huge hunger, players that are desperate to prove themselves.

“That’s imperative to me as it fits in with the ethos of the football club, and fits in with how I feel about myself in terms of coaching.

“I’m really pleased. We’ve signed a good mixture in terms of age and experience. It’s been a good window.

“If you’re asking me, selfishly, I’d have loved another five, six, seven, eight or nine players.

“But, unfortunately, we’re not Manchester United.”

Taylor had gone into the month wanting a left-back and striker, and he did manage to reinforce both of those areas.

They are lighter in terms of options on the wing now, though, after the departures of Khan and Phillips – now with League Two rivals Leyton Orient and Exeter City respectively.

One feature of the window seemed to be that paperwork took a while to complete, with Devine’s loan switch from Man United taking a bit longer to get over the line than initially expected.

Taylor added on the January window: “The majority of transfer deals, it’s almost as if you compare it to buying a house.

“It takes one move to kickstart everything.

“We didn’t go into the last day of the window panicking, which is important as it’s about preparation.

“It was a strange window. It’s still a strange time in the world – not just in football.

“I think it will take a period of time for everything to get back to normal.

“But in terms of the players we signed, their character, attitude and ability, I’m really pleased.

“Have we made good decisions on recruitment based on the players we lost? Yes, I believe we have.”