O'Donnell not concerned by run

Goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell insists morale remains high in the Walsall camp despite a five-match run without a win.

The Saddlers flew out of the blocks at the start of the season, winning their opening three fixtures in all competitions, but they have since struggled to repeat those heights, albeit falling to defeat against quality opposition in the shape of Brentford, Stoke, Preston and Wolves. And following an international break which has given Dean Smith's side plenty of opportunity to recharge their batteries, O'Donnell says confidence is still upbeat at the midlands club going into Saturday's trip to Crewe. "Morale is fine," he told Press Association Sport. "We did have a really good start although everyone was really cautious not to get carried away with it because we knew we had a tough spell coming up. "A lot of those games have been away from home, various cup games, but I think we've applied ourselves really well. We can take a lot out of the games we have played, apart from the results. "So there's a lot to work on still but we feel as though the results haven't really been going our way when we've been playing quite well. Morale is fine and we're looking forward to Saturday now after a little break." Walsall's backline have conceded eight goals in the last three games and managed to keep just one clean sheet so far this term, a record O'Donnell as well as those in front of him are determined to better. "Not just myself but the whole team are really desperate to improve that record," he added. "It's not just me and the back four who work for it, it's the whole team who work as a defensive unit, as we do as an attacking unit. "We have had some really tough games in the period, which needs to be stressed. And I think that's why morale is so good, we're not worried about things. "We've played a lot of games away from home as well, apart from Preston (a 3-0 home defeat) where everyone had a bit of a bad day. "The team, management and staff all want to improve on the defensive record and I don't think we're far away at all, throughout games we defend really well but it's just a few lapses of concentration and that's what we're looking to improve upon going into the next few games."