On Thursday morning, Walsall manager Dean Smith took part in his usual pre-match press conference as he prepares for this weekend's Sky Bet League 1 clash with Burton Albion. Gabriel Sutton of 'The Football Lab' was in attendance, and gives us the latest on what was said, and considers what we can expect from the top-of the table clash.
Walsall and Burton Albion have a lot in common. Separated by just 29 miles of the A38, the respective clubs, who meet at the Banks Stadium on Saturday, have taken the neutrals by surprise this season, occupying the top two places in League One despite modest resources.
Another similarity? These are arguably the two best run clubs in England. Some incredible work from Burton chairman Ben Robinson has helped the Brewers rise from the depths of non-league to 1st place in England’s third tier. Meanwhile, the clear sense of stability at Walsall has created the perfect environment for the club to develop young, unproven talent, and the Black Country side are now seeing the benefits of that, with an excellent start to the season.
It is 9.30 at Walsall’s training centre in Essington, and Dean Smith jovially greets a small gathering of local journalists. When asked about his side’s forthcoming match, he is the first to admit that nobody would have predicted Walsall against Burton to be a 1st against 2nd clash: ‘A lot of clubs out there would have been looking and thinking it’s two of the likely lower clubs’.
However, Smith emphasized that he feels this view has been held by other clubs only. ‘We feel that we can compete at the top echelons in this league and I’m sure that Burton will be the same.’ When judging potential promotion contenders, most neutrals will consider a team’s budget. However, Walsall and Burton are punching above their financial weight thus far and Smith was complimentary of the progress his side’s opponents have made.
‘There’s been a steady incline for Burton’ said Smith, who recounted the club’s previous managers following their promotion from the Conference under Nigel Clough. ‘Jimmy {Floyd Hasselbaink} took over the mantle last season, got them promoted and has certainly carried on that momentum to this season.’
Smith admitted he was surprised when Hasselbaink took charge at the Pirelli Stadium: ‘to see a player of Jimmy’s calibre pop up at a club like Burton Albion is probably the odd thing, because players with his calibre normally go straight in at a higher level’. Indeed, at the time of the appointment back in November, many questioned whether the Dutchman would show the adaptability required. Could Hasselbaink organize his team and manage players who had a more limited skillset than he did as a player? The answer, evidently, has been an emphatic yes.
Burton have only conceded more than 1 goal in a league game on one occassion since Hasselbaink took over (away at Cambridge, a match they won 3-2 when they were already promoted). When Smith was asked about what he will expect from Saturday’s visitors, he eluded to their defensive strength: ‘Burton are very hardworking, they don’t score many goals but they certainly don’t concede many either, so they’ve managed to keep that momentum and that winning mentality at their club’.
‘Momentum’ was very much the buzz word on Burton. ‘It carries a lot of teams through and they’ve certainly got that, they’ve got a good squad of players, they’ve not tasted adversity for a long time and when you have that winning feeling it’s one that you want to keep.’
Asked if victory on Saturday would provide a statement of intent for Walsall, the Saddlers boss seemed relaxed: ‘I suppose it would, but I think we’ve been doing that all season. Every game that we’ve gone into, people have said it’s a test of credentials again and to be fair to the players they’ve come out every week with credit.’
Saturday’s match will be arguably the biggest test of the season for both Walsall and Burton, but Smith remains confident. ‘We’ve been pinning up our credentials every week by the performances that we’ve been putting out there so we need to continue doing that.’
Another similarity? These are arguably the two best run clubs in England. Some incredible work from Burton chairman Ben Robinson has helped the Brewers rise from the depths of non-league to 1st place in England’s third tier. Meanwhile, the clear sense of stability at Walsall has created the perfect environment for the club to develop young, unproven talent, and the Black Country side are now seeing the benefits of that, with an excellent start to the season.
It is 9.30 at Walsall’s training centre in Essington, and Dean Smith jovially greets a small gathering of local journalists. When asked about his side’s forthcoming match, he is the first to admit that nobody would have predicted Walsall against Burton to be a 1st against 2nd clash: ‘A lot of clubs out there would have been looking and thinking it’s two of the likely lower clubs’.
However, Smith emphasized that he feels this view has been held by other clubs only. ‘We feel that we can compete at the top echelons in this league and I’m sure that Burton will be the same.’ When judging potential promotion contenders, most neutrals will consider a team’s budget. However, Walsall and Burton are punching above their financial weight thus far and Smith was complimentary of the progress his side’s opponents have made.
‘There’s been a steady incline for Burton’ said Smith, who recounted the club’s previous managers following their promotion from the Conference under Nigel Clough. ‘Jimmy {Floyd Hasselbaink} took over the mantle last season, got them promoted and has certainly carried on that momentum to this season.’
Smith admitted he was surprised when Hasselbaink took charge at the Pirelli Stadium: ‘to see a player of Jimmy’s calibre pop up at a club like Burton Albion is probably the odd thing, because players with his calibre normally go straight in at a higher level’. Indeed, at the time of the appointment back in November, many questioned whether the Dutchman would show the adaptability required. Could Hasselbaink organize his team and manage players who had a more limited skillset than he did as a player? The answer, evidently, has been an emphatic yes.
Burton have only conceded more than 1 goal in a league game on one occassion since Hasselbaink took over (away at Cambridge, a match they won 3-2 when they were already promoted). When Smith was asked about what he will expect from Saturday’s visitors, he eluded to their defensive strength: ‘Burton are very hardworking, they don’t score many goals but they certainly don’t concede many either, so they’ve managed to keep that momentum and that winning mentality at their club’.
‘Momentum’ was very much the buzz word on Burton. ‘It carries a lot of teams through and they’ve certainly got that, they’ve got a good squad of players, they’ve not tasted adversity for a long time and when you have that winning feeling it’s one that you want to keep.’
Asked if victory on Saturday would provide a statement of intent for Walsall, the Saddlers boss seemed relaxed: ‘I suppose it would, but I think we’ve been doing that all season. Every game that we’ve gone into, people have said it’s a test of credentials again and to be fair to the players they’ve come out every week with credit.’
Saturday’s match will be arguably the biggest test of the season for both Walsall and Burton, but Smith remains confident. ‘We’ve been pinning up our credentials every week by the performances that we’ve been putting out there so we need to continue doing that.’