Walsall boss Mat Sadler happy to see defensive plan progressing

Walsall head coach Mat Sadler is impressed by how his defence is shaping up ahead of the new season.

Aston Villa's Aaron Ramsey (right) and Walsall's Priestley Farquharson battle for the ball during a pre-season friendly match at the Poundland Bescot Stadium, Walsall. Picture date: Saturday July 15, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story SOCCER Walsall. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire...RESTRICTIONS: Use subject to restrictions. Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior consent from rights holder..

The Saddlers have fielded a back-three against Leamington and Villa, with summer recruits Priestley Farquharson and Chris Hussey starting alongside captain Donervon Daniels.

After a strong start to pre-season, Sadler is confident his players are capable of producing the front-foot football he wants to implement.

“Priestley is an incredible athlete. He loves to defend, but there is a little edge to him where he can also express himself on the ball,” said the boss.

“It was quite sticky at times so you saw a few of the lads getting the ball stuck under their feet. On another day, on another pitch, he’s able to get it out of his feet, and play forward.

“The defence all give a little bit of something different. Chris has an incredible ability on the ball and has got a lovely left foot.

“If I am going to play this back-three then they’ve got to be extremely aggressive and willing to come out of their comfort zone a little bit.

“I want us to be high-energy, I want us to press, I was want us to be on the front-foot all the time. It’s really hard work to play like that but I’ve got some good athletes that are extremely capable of doing that.”

Walsall followed their 4-1 victory at Leamington with a 1-1 draw against Villa on Saturday.

Danny Johnson opened the scoring just past the half-hour with his second goal of pre-season, before Ollie Watkins levelled from the spot on the cusp of half-time.

The Saddlers ultimately came away with the draw to register their first result over Villa in six years.

And Sadler was impressed by how his side adapted to the challenge posed by Villa.

“What was pleasing was that we were able to adapt to certain scenarios in the game,” he added.

“It was nice that it wasn’t one of those afternoons that can sometimes happen when you play against big teams.

“Naturally when you play against a Premier League team, you know they will have the football for long periods of the game.

“But we were able to adapt, work out their potential weaknesses and how we could potentially exploit that.”