Walsall won't have 700 passes and lose 1-0 - Grant

Walsall head coach Lee Grant says he knows what it takes to be successful - and vows he will bring "his players" in to mount an "aggressive and attacking" challenge for promotion.

Grant was appointed just over a month ago as Mat Sadler's permanent replacement and is overseeing a rehaul of a Saddlers squad that has seen two promotion attempts in League Two falter badly in each of the past two seasons.

Speaking at a fans' forum, hosted by BBC Radio WM, Grant outlined his vision for how he wants Walsall to look.

"The only way I know how to coach is to try to have more of the football than the other team, try to spend more time in their half, try to have more shots, try to score more goals," he said.

"That's my track record, that's what I aim to coach this group.

"I don't label myself as a possession-based coach. I don't see any value in that. The last thing I want my team to do is have 700 passes and lose 1-0.

"But I'm really confident that I can set a team up to be able to have and take more of the ball and that is a shift from where we've been and what's been happening at the club over the last 24 months.

"My belief is that we have to be an aggressive team this year. We'll be having as many forwards on the pitch as we can, being mindful that we've got to look after and protect our goal as well."

Former goalkeeper Grant played in the Premier League, Championship and League One in a career that spanned more than 500 games.

His only managerial experience was an eight-month spell with Huddersfield that ended in January but that followed a stint as attacking coach at Ipswich that took in their back-to-back promotions to the top flight in 2023-24.

"I know what it's like to play in League One, I know what it's like to have to fight your way through the levels," Grant said.

"I've had that showed me an awful lot on all sides of the coin - and the same can be said as a head coach.

"Have I managed in this division [League Two] yet? No. But I've watched an incredible amount of football across this division over my last few months, I have a real good understanding of what you need to be successful."

Grant said he was "not blind to the challenges" he will face but vowed Walsall will be "adaptable" and "ready".

He confirmed his preference to play with a flat-back four but tweaks to structure would be "very small", albeit it with an acknowledgement that "it won't be the same thing every week, because we don't play the same team every week".

Grant's reputation for attacking football is well earned.

At Ipswich, his work helped the Tractor Boys score 101 goals in their promotion from League One in 2022-23 and another 92 the following season in the Championship - something Grant said, as a former goalkeeper, was a little "ironic".

"Those years taught me an awful lot, that is part of how I like to coach," he added. "I like to coach forward players. I like to coach aggressive, attacking teams.

"At Huddersfield, we were the top scorers in the division. I think [we were top] across each and every attacking metric. So that's how my teams play and it's not easy to replicate that.

"It's a hell of a lot of work, but I'm really confident in how I coach. We're going to be an attacking team, take more of the ball, spend more time in the opposition's half which gives us an opportunity to have more entries into their box, more shots on goal, score more goals."

Central to Grant's plan to be more potent and to have more possession will be recruitment.

Walsall, who scored 56 goals in 46 league games last term, parted company with 19 players at the end of last season and have, so far, made one new signing - striker Andy Dallas - while veteran forward Albert Adomah has agreed a fresh one-year deal.

Director of football Stewart Mairs told the forum he wants "a leaner squad" of around 23 players and said more arrivals are imminent.

"I think we'll have two, hopefully three, done by the weekend - they will be permanents and they will be starters, so suddenly that looks a little bit more healthy," he said.

"We had the 19th worst home record last season, so if we want to be aggressive, we're going to have to put players on the field who can give us different looks at times."

Mairs said although Walsall have "three or four good quality loan options" at the moment, he did not want to be "over reliant" on that market.

"I don't want to do this again in 12 months' time, where I'm having to recreate a squad of 15 players," he said.

"So the idea is to bring in assets that are good and are with us on this journey of two, three years but also guys we want to fit into a new manager's style of play and the business model of the club.

"Are we able to put together a squad that we believe is going to be capable of challenging and taking us to League One? Yes. Does that mean it's easy? No."

Grant added that whoever comes in, he will have the final say.

"They'll be my players. If I didn't think I could have my players, I just wouldn't have taken the job," he said.

"We've got an opportunity here to shape something. I have to want these players in the building, and they have to fit the things that I want to be able to do with them.

"We're all very much on the same page and have a really clear idea of what a Walsall player needs to look like."

The full forum will be broadcast on BBC Radio WM between 1800-1900 BST on Thursday, 18 June and is also be available via BBC Sounds.