Bescot Banter: Walsall steadily keep improving under Michael Flynn

Since our last column the Saddlers have gone on to secure six more points and are currently in possession of a fifteen-point advantage over the teams in the drop zone, a position which seemed nothing more than a pipe dream just a few short weeks ago.

Narrow victories over Sutton United and Oldham Athletic once again proved that the team has finally turned a corner, as a duo of battling displays saw their unbeaten run extended to five league games, with the team continuing to fly up the form guide.

Beginning with Saturday's meeting with Sutton United, and an assured if unspectacular victory over a team which had not only lost just one in fourteen, but had also booked their place in the EFL Trophy Final with a shoot-out victory over Wigan Athletic just a few days earlier.

Facing a team which looked to rough up their opponents, Flynn's flyers were more than up for the challenge as Conor Wilkinson's spot-kick secured the points, with the Reds' recent record of upsetting the apple cart continuing with another scalp of title-chasing opposition.

Just a few days after their triumph over the Amber and Chocolates attention turned to Tuesday evening and a meeting with relegation-threatened Oldham Athletic, a team which has also found itself shopping in the manager aisle as they look to drag themselves out of the drop zone.

Despite seeing their team dispatch with far more in-form opposition than the Latics over the last few weeks, there is always that small part of any battle-hardened Saddler that will fear the worst as their side has an extended history of shooting itself in the foot when faced with a team it should be able to overcome.

However, even after going behind midway through the first forty-five as Will Sutton took advantage of yet more poor defending, the new, more resilient Saddlers not only levelled the scores - Emmanuel Osadebe slamming home form the edge of the area - but went on to take all three points as Conor Wilkinson bagged his fourth goal in five games to send the visitors back up the M6 with nothing to show for their visit to the Black Country.

Despite their substantial advantage over the drop zone, Head Coach Michael Flynn used Tuesday's post-match presser to call upon his team to keep their heads down and fight to secure as many points as possible between now and the end of the season.

And, with the recent string of defeats firmly in mind, it's hard to argue with the gaffer's determination to battle on, especially when you consider how much easier it would be to convince any prospective summer signing to join a club on the up rather than one which scraped survival by the skin of its teeth.

With that being said, we hope the final weeks and month of the season will see the Saddlers build upon their recent successes and give the faithful a summer of hope as they look ahead to 2022/23 and consider just what Michael Flynn and his team may be able to achieve by this time next year.