Walsall head coach Mat Sadler has insisted he will keep fighting as pressure from supporters continues to intensify.
It’s seemingly a case of Groundhog Day for the Saddlers. They looked nailed on for promotion to League One last season, where at one point they held a 12 point gap at the top of the table. A 13-game winless run towards the end of the campaign saw them drop into the play-off positions, where they eventually lost in the final to AFC Wimbledon.
It appears as if history is repeating itself. Once again top of League Two at Christmas, Walsall have endured another collapse which has seen them pick up just one victory since the turn of the year. As a result, the West Midlanders have slipped to ninth.
Poor Form Shows No Signs Of Slowing
Walsall had an opportunity to halt their poor run of form last night when they hosted fellow promotion chasers MK Dons at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium. A win could have seen them move back into the top seven and four points behind their opponents with a game in hand.
It proved to be much of the same though. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy capitalised on a defensive error on the half hour mark to put the visitors in front. Jon Mellish then compounded Mat Sadler’s misery six minutes from time.
It’s happening again 🫣
Walsall have an uncanny knack of throwing away promotion 😬#Saddlers pic.twitter.com/kQrqmRxQDE
— The Deck (@TheDeckEFL) February 24, 2026
Sadler Addresses Sack Calls
The result leaves Walsall three points behind seventh-placed Chesterfield ahead of a trip to a rejuvenated Shrewsbury Town on Saturday. This has left Sadler under increasing pressure ahead of the business end of the season.
There have been calls for his head in recent weeks, prompting the board to release a statement earlier this month acknowledging the downturn in form. The 40-year-old remains defiant though, insisting he will keep fighting. Speaking after the game, he said:
“It’s all about winning games, doing well and being on that front-foot.
“I’ve got a fantastic relationship with everyone at this football club. Through good times and bad times.
“That has remained the same and will continue to do so. Football is a brutal business at times.
“You can be the perfect man for the job a month ago and then all of a sudden that changes. “But you know what? It changes back the other way very quickly as well and I will be fighting.
“I’ll keep believing. That’s what we have to do, otherwise what’s the point? I will keep flying that flag during a challenging period.”
It does appear as if Walsall have developed an uncanny knack of blowing promotion in recent seasons. They are desperate to return to the third tier for the first time since 2019, but Sadler isn’t showing that he is capable of taking that final step.
With the discontent now impossible to drown out, failure to win at his former club Shrewsbury could see the head coach out of a job.