Grimsby v Walsall: Mat Sadler pleased with progress but still hungry for more

Walsall have collected seven points from their first five games on their travels and sit two points adrift of the League Two summit in fourth with a game in hand over the three teams above them.

Sadler’s men have kept two clean sheets and conceded just four times away from home in the process. In contrast, Walsall shipped 48 goals on the road last term - conceding an average of 2.13 goals per game.

And while Sadler recognised the improvement on the road, the Walsall boss insists his side cannot afford to rest on their laurels.

He said: “Pleased but not satisfied is always what we’ll take into everything. I remember that game (6-1 at Grimsby) and the amount of fans that came on New Year’s Day was amazing, considering all the games that we’d had over Christmas.

“The supporters have continued ever since and also prior to that. We want to keep giving them good memories, good moments and keep building and progressing with them at the forefront.

“Desperate to get a good away win and then we’ll be back at home on Tuesday. The next game is the most important and come the end of the season, we’ll say however good our home or away form was.

“Hopefully we’ll be right up there by that stage but still very early and we’ve got plenty of points to play for.”

Tommy Simkin, Donervon Daniels, Liam Gordon and Brandon Comley are all fit after returning from international duty.

Oisin McEntee will also be available for selection after recovering from a calf injury which has kept him out since the end of August.

Nathan Lowe scored both goals in Walsall’s 2-2 draw at Chesterfield before the international break to extend his tally to six goals in all competitions.

Sadler feels the Stoke City loanee is starting to find his rhythm and is confident he will follow in Simkin’s footsteps by receiving further England youth caps.

“He played great against Chesterfield. Nathan is really starting to get into his rhythm now which is great. Another couple of weeks of good training has given him the world of good,” Sadler added.

“If he keeps doing well, fingers crossed selection will follow him. It’s always about what that next thing is and that’s something that Nathan has taken forward in this loan in terms of the learning part of it.

“I don’t see him dwelling on anything these days because he always gets straight back on to the next thing. That’s a really big character strength to continue with for his career to keep up that improvement.

“When I see someone like Nathan, I know there’s a player there who can score goals, get chances, create havoc and be really effective for any team he plays for.”