Gillingham v Walsall: Blues brothers reunited but on different missions

Fast forward 17 years and the pair will be reunited on the touchline as Walsall take on Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium tomorrow.

Sadler enjoyed his most successful season as a player alongside current Gills boss Clemence during Birmingham’s 2006-07 promotion-winning campaign under Steve Bruce.

He amassed 36 appearances as Birmingham pipped Derby County to second spot, and the Walsall boss is now hungry for the sweet taste of success from the dugout.

“It was a good season for us. It’s about replicating those those types of seasons in management now,” Sadler claims.

“Steve (Bruce) knew how to put a team together.

“We had young, hungry players that were desperate to succeed and good experienced players that were determined to do well and win games.

“Steve (Clemence) would fit into that bracket.

“There’s many comparisons about how I want to set-up my team in terms of players desperate to achieve and others that have played lots of games but are still hungry to win.”

Clemence worked under Bruce at the likes of Hull City, Villa, Newcastle and Albion respectively, before setting out on his own at Gillingham in November. Walsall collected five wins from six league games between a memorable comeback victory at Notts County on December 9 and the 6-1 mauling of Grimsby Town on New Year’s Day.

The Saddlers sit three places and five points behind the Gills in the table. Now, they’ll be looking to make up ground in the table after losing 3-1 at Stockport and drawing 1-1 against Sutton at Bescot last weekend.

“They are a good team, make no bones about that. They’ve been at the top end for the majority of the season,” Sadler added.

“But we like to focus on us. What we’re going to do, our group and our set-up.

“Of course, you need to have an awareness of the opposition.

“That’s clear and obvious but what’s always important is how we settle into the game, how we approach it and he how we think we can win the game.”

Aramide Oteh is closing in on a return after almost four months on the side lines with a hamstring injury. Sadler revealed there is a small possibility Oteh could be in contention for the weekend, although it appears more likely that he’ll return against Morecambe (February 6) or Newport (February 10).

Harry Williams has been ruled out for rest of the season after requiring surgery on a hip flexor injury, while new signing Jamie Jellis is also unavailable (hamstring).

Danny Johnson (toe) and Oisin McEntee (hamstring) also remain absent.