‘I wish they cared as much as me’ – Walsall boss questions players attitude ahead of EFL Trophy clash

Walsall boss Darrell Clarke has questioned the attitude of his players ahead of tonight’s EFL Trophy clash with League Two high-flyers Forest Green Rovers.

The Saddlers are currently on a dreadful winless run of seven games and having lost their last six in the league, they go into the game with the pressure mounting on Clarke who despite an extensive summer rebuilding job has so far failed to reverse the decline in results which saw them relegated last season.

 

A disappointing home draw with non-league Darlington in the FA Cup at the weekend halted the run of defeats but did nothing to lift the doom and gloom around the Bescot Stadium and in his latest comments Clarke called out his players for lack of desire.

Speaking to the Express and Star, he said: ‘I wish they (the players) cared as much as me, my supporters and my board sometimes.’

‘For some reason, we’re making soft players now.’

‘They have to get through that stage to make themselves better.’

‘We can lead them into shapes and patterns and the situations to score goals, but they have to get themselves together and sort themselves out. It’s definitely a mental thing, without a shadow of a doubt.’

Clarke went on to admit recent results have not been good enough and that he was under massive pressure to register a win of any sort even if it does come in the much-maligned EFL Trophy which is usually way down the list of priorities of the club. He said: ‘We’ll take any win at the minute.’

‘I’m not going to overthink things; we need to win football matches.’

‘We need to get players out there; some players need minutes to get their match fitness levels up.’

‘We’ll be putting a team out there to win the game, that’s for sure.’

Walsall’s dreadful form has seen them slip to twenty-second in League Two, just two points above bottom club Morecambe.

However, a win tonight would put them through to the second round the of the EFL Trophy.


Our View

When a manager starts publicly calling out his players, the end is usually in sight.

He signed the bulk of the players he says do not care, the buck, therefore, stops with him.

It hasn’t worked for Clarke at Walsall, and the pressure might prove to be intolerable if he doesn’t pick up any win soon.

We will be surprised if he is still in the dugout at Christmas.

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