Walsall boss Mat Sadler looking to create more FA Cup memories

The Saddlers reached the fourth round of the competition last term to set up a home tie against Premier League opponents Leicester City.

Over 10,000 packed into Bescot to watch them narrowly lose 1-0 against the Foxes, but Sadler is determined to produce more magical moments in the current campaign.

“That’s why we’re in it. We want to make memories, and we want to make those magic moments,” Sadler declared.

“The Cup can do that for you as. We want to perform and to get to any of those things, we need to play well.

“We need to be intense, we need to be front foot and we need to not let anything come in our distraction barring the fact that it’s 11 v 11 and we want to try to win the game.”

Sadler also cast his mind back to his own memories of the FA Cup as a player.

He made his FA Cup debut as a second-half substitute in Birmingham’s 2-1 win over Reading in 2006, and later starred in a memorable 5-1 crushing of Newcastle at St James’ Park the following year.

And the 38-year-old revealed that his first experience in the competition ultimately kick-started his Birmingham career.

“I came on as a sub, I’d been out of the team for a time through injury myself,” he recalled.

“At the time, Steve Bruce went through a younger bench and made a couple of changes towards the end.

“For me, that kick-started my Birmingham career, having started when I first came in (against Bolton as a 17-year-old in 2002) and then gone a couple of years since my previous appearance.

“Some great memories from that. The night at St James’ Park was also fantastic.

“We drew 2-2 with 10 men in the first game and the replay took us up there, and we really stuck our authority on the game. And it was a memorable trip home for sure.

“Seb (Larsson) is still playing and Marcus Bent was another good player. We had some really good footballers and it was certainly a good time.

“That was an occasion where we were the underdogs in that game, and it shows what the Cup can be about.”