Walsall forward Erhun Oztumer has spoken to club journalists ahead of this evening's clash with relegation-threatened Rochdale and admitted that the Dale, who have several games in hand over the teams around them, will pose a tough test.
Erhun, who scored the first hat-trick of his career as the Saddlers defeated Southend United at the weekend, admitted that the 2017/18 campaign has been one of ups and downs for the Saddlers, but he insisted that there is still plenty to play for.
Oztumer, who was speaking via the club's official website - Saddlers.co.uk, said; "It’s been an up and down season for us. We need to be more consistent. We’ve got 11 games to go now and we’re going to give it our all and see where we end up.
"Rochdale are down there and it’ll be a tough game. But we’re at home, and with our fans behind us, we can beat anyone. Hopefully we can finish higher than we did last year."
Erhun, who joined the Saddlers on a free transfer from Peterborough United in the summer of 2016, then went on to talk about last weekend's hat-trick, revealing that he is keen to add more goals to his game, he continued; "I was delighted to score a hat-trick. In those conditions, it was hard to play. The three points were the most important thing but to score three goals away from home was a great feeling.
"I always go on the pitch and try to give 110%, work hard and try to show my talent. I had a good game and scored three goals. I wanted to beat last year’s record and I’ve done that now. I want to score as many as I can and play as well as I can."