Mat Sadler knows Walsall must find way to get their mojo back after Crawley draw

Walsall boss Mat Sadler admitted his stuttering Saddlers need to find a way to get their mojo back after being held to a second successive stalemate in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Crawley.

Sadler’s side led League Two for much of the season until the turn of the year but have slipped to sixth after winning just two of their past eight games.

Walsall suffered a similar slump in the second half of last season to miss out on promotion and Sadler says they are still readjusting with loan recalls being replaced by new faces.

“There’s been a few bodies leave, a few bodies come in and it’s about resetting how the team looks with a slightly different dynamic – that’s the job now, putting that back together,” he said.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s been a well-oiled machine for the first 20-odd games of the season.

“Now it’s slightly changed so we have to slightly change with it and get back on the front foot and wrestle that momentum back.”

Walsall were fortunate to even claim a point against relegation-threatened Crawley, who fashioned the best chances in a mostly drab affair.

“The way we set up, we wanted to get a couple of extra attacking bodies in to give us a bit of a different dynamic, so there were positive front-foot changes,” added Sadler.

“The lads have all stood up and preserved that clean sheet which is vital.

“These are the tough times of the season and picking up points to keep that scoreboard ticking over even when it’s not looking great, they are the positives that we will move forward on.”

The draw moved Crawley three points clear of the bottom two but only Walsall keeper Myles Roberts prevented them from winning, saving well from Ronan Darcy, Jay Williams and Theo Vassell.

“We are pleased with the performance, it’s where we want to be at this moment in time and the players are gelling every game, every training session,” said Red Devils assistant Neil Smith.

“Their keeper pulled off a couple of good saves and we did everything we wanted to do except score.

“Everything the gaffer has told them to do they put into practice apart from that end product of the goal. But that is two clean sheets on the spin and we can build from that.”

Crawley host bottom side Harrogate on Saturday and Smith added: “It’s a six-pointer but it’s about building and winning as many games as we can until the end of the season.

“It will be a tough game because they are fighting for their lives and there are no easy games in this division. We are going to have turn up and be as good as we were tonight.”