Mat Sadler insists Hayden White can be Walsall attacking threat
First-team coach Mat Sadler says Hayden White may just have made a case for becoming one of Walsall’s set piece threats after his decisive contribution in Saturday’s win against Rochdale.
White notched his first Walsall goal, in his 96th appearance, to clinch a hard-fought victory and make it four league wins in a row on home soil for the upwardly mobile Saddlers.
Sadler, a former defender himself, was delighted to see the 27-year-old on the scoresheet and admits he could go on and prove himself a strong presence inside the opposition penalty area.
“It’s a real bonus to see Hayden scoring and we want to see our defenders getting in the goals,” he added. “It was good that Manny (Monthe) won the header from the throw – he’s a big boy but that often means the opposition put their big defenders on him to nullify him, so we were pleased to see him win that one.
“And then it was all about Hayden and we have noticed in training how alert he is in the box and he showed that on Saturday, when other players were flat-footed.
“That was what led to the goal, it’s not a coincidence that it just landed on him, and it’s that being alert which earned him the goal and earned us the win.
“In my eyes I think Hayden is perfect for that role on the right of the back three because he can defend and he can get forward, and link really well with Liam (Bennett) in front of him.
“He used to be stood on the halfway line for set pieces because we knew he could look after the counter-attacks, but if he keeps popping up with goals then we might have to rethink that!”
