Walsall's development side have this week secured the Central League (North West) championship without kicking a ball.
The Saddlers have won eight of their nine Central League fixtures and, following Port Vale’s two-nil home defeat to Bradford City on Wednesday afternoon, head into next week's trip to Port Vale with the title already secured.
Development team manager John Ward has spoken to club journalists following the Valiants' defeat to the Bantams and congratulated his team before looking ahead to next week's clash, he said; "It’s really good for the players to win the league. Most of the players we’ve used have been Under-18s so it’s been great for them. I’m not one of those coaches that works with youth players who says we’re looking simply at development, you develop them to try to win.
"We’ve won 13 games in succession, come from behind in games and dug out 1-0 wins when we haven’t played particularly well. I think they’ll learn a lot more doing that and they’ve got a nice reward for it so I’m pleased for them.
"We’ve still got to go to Port Vale, who were our rivals for the title, in our final game and we’ve also got two semi-finals so there’s still a lot to play for."