NO-NONSENSE central defender, Clayton McDonald came within a lick of paint of giving The Saddlers a last-gasp victory over Bristol Rovers on Saturday as his header from a 90th minute corner struck the crossbar before being scrambled to safety.

"I think I may have got too much of a good connection on the header," he said. "It was disappointing that we didn't nick it right at the death, but on a positive note, we kept a clean sheet.

"We know that their front two like to go deep and they also like to run at you, but if you can deal with that then you give yourself a chance.

"We will have Troy Deeney back for Tuesday's game and that will give us a big boost. As well as that, Manny Smith is also closing in on a return to increase our defensive options.

"I think that we are playing some decent stuff at the moment but haven't picked up the points that we have deserved recently. That said, the confidence is still there and maybe we just need that bit of luck or a scrappy goal to set us off on a run of results.

"We're three games unbeaten now and hopefully we can extend that at Bristol Rovers on Tuesday."

For the past two games, McDonald has been partnered in the heart of the back-line by the experienced Jamie Vincent. "Jamie is a great professional," he added. "He can adapt to any situation and has helped me a lot.

"He's great to have around and has been the calming influence that we need in an otherwise young defence. I can't praise his contribution highly enough."

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