Dean Keates adamant he has what it takes to revive Walsall
Posted Sunday, February 17, 2019 by PA
Walsall manager Dean Keates insisted he is still the right man for the job despite seeing his side fall to a 3-0 defeat at Coventry.
Amadou Bakayoko and Jordy Hiwula scored against their former club before Bright Enobakhare added a second-half penalty.
The defeat stretched the Saddlers’ wretched run of form to just two wins in 21 games and they now find themselves just two points off the League One relegation zone.
But Keates still believes he can turn things around.
“I have no doubt I’m the right man. I have the fight in me to take this club forward and I want to do that,” he said.
“It’s virtually the same squad who went on the unbelievable run at the beginning of the season.
“But we have a week, and this week is going to be a long week for them. They need to go out next week and give everything for this football club.”
Keates criticised some members of his squad for not showing the performance levels required.
“You have players knocking on the door asking to play and when you give them the opportunity, they’re not performing,” he added.
“Five defeats in a row is nowhere near good enough in the predicament we’re in. There’s only one Walsall player who can come off with credit today and that’s Liam Roberts.
“There’s 39 points to play for, before we know it there’ll only be 36. We had a frank, honest discussion in there about what needs to be done and what’s good enough.”
Coventry manager Mark Robins praised Bakayoko’s performance against his former employers, with the striker shushing the away fans after heading in City’s first.
“I thought Bakayoko’s performance after he had scored his goal and got a bit of confidence was outstanding,” he said.
“He was winning things in the air, he was flicking on and his movement – he was really, really good and that’s good for him because he’s set his benchmark and he’s got to keep doing that.
“It was a great ball in from Dujon Sterling and he scored a really good header, and some of the movement was what we are after, so really pleased.”
While pleased with the result, Robins still felt his side should have won by an even bigger margin.
“We can enjoy tonight, smell the roses on the back of a really good week’s work,” he added.
“The dressing room is really bouncing and we have got to keep doing that for the rest of the season.
“We could have won by a more emphatic scoreline had we taken more chances but it was a really good performance.”
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