Isaac Hutchinson backs Walsall to make strides next season
Isaac Hutchinson is confident Walsall can compete in the top half of League Two next season after admitting they fell short of expectations this year.
The Saddlers finished 16th for the second campaign running after winning just two matches after New Year’s Day as their challenge for a play-off spot fizzled out dramatically.
That led to Michael Flynn being sacked as manager last month with the club still looking for his replacement.
Hutchinson, crowned young player of the season after an impressive individual campaign, believes they will be capable of better next time around.
He said: “We know that we haven’t reached where we wanted to reach.
“There’s been times where we’ve been so close to it but times where we’ve felt miles away from it and it’s just about when we’re in and around the positions where we want to be, we need to step on the gas and keep pushing and that’s just a bit of luck as well that we definitely haven’t had this season.
“I think next season that everyone is going to go into it knowing we can be there or thereabouts because we’ve been there this season and haven’t been at our best, we could have been better and who knows where we’d be?”
Hutchinson’s own performances were an undoubted positive as he scored eight goals, picking up the goal of the season award for his strike in February’s 3-3 draw at Hartlepool.
The 23-year-old made 53 appearances in all competitions and said: “If at the start of the season you told me I was going to get all that, I would have bitten your hand off and been buzzing, especially the number of games I’ve played and the role I’ve had in the team.
“I wanted that and I was pushing to get that but it’s not something you expect because you have to earn it. With how the season’s gone, I’m really happy with it.”
