Walsall sack head coach Sadler after poor run

Walsall have sacked head coach Mat Sadler following Tuesday’s defeat by Salford City which left them with one win in their past 11 matches in League Two.

The 1-0 loss was their third in a row and further dented their fading challenge for a play-off place.

Walsall were four points clear at the top of the table in early December, but a run of two wins in 14 since Boxing Day has left them 11th in the table, three points outside the top seven with 10 games remaining.

Sadler, a former defender at the club, leaves after a nearly three years in charge, having been appointed on a permanent basis in May 2023 following a short interim stint.

“I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the significant efforts and contributions of Mat, both as a professional and as a person, during his time at the club,” Walsall co-chairman Ben Boycott said.

“We thank him for his dedicated service and wish him the very best for the future.”

Walsall supporters have become increasingly concerned over recent results and lacklustre form since the turn of the year – particularly at home, where they have scored 19 goals in 18 games and lost eight times, including the past four.

They have won only twice since a table-topping victory over Crewe Alexandra on 26 December.

That unrest spilled out during, and after, the home defeat by Barnet early last month when there were repeated calls from fans for Sadler to be dismissed.

But, afterwards, the head coach defiantly blamed an instant gratification culture for fuelling a lot of the supporters’ unhappiness.

The club’s board released a statement soon after saying they were aware results “had not met the elevated standards we have set ourselves” in a move that suggested the writing might be on the wall for the head coach.

Sadler’s responded by saying it was “not my job” to worry about the potential implications for his future and, despite another poor result on their own ground against MK Dons, saw his team bounce back with a win at in-form Shrewsbury Town.

Unfortunately for Sadler, Walsall’s problems on the field in 2026 have been inevitably framed by the capitulation of their seemingly unassailable promotion challenge last season.

They raced into a 12-point lead at the top off the back of a club-record nine consecutive wins only for their form to collapse as a 13-game winless run left them scrambling to finish fourth.

Although they eventually made the League Two play-off final, the Saddlers lost at Wembley to AFC Wimbledon.

Sadler, though, consistently emphasized the irrelevance of that on his rebuilt squad this season as 15 players came in over the summer.

“We haven’t got over the line in the way we would have wanted to over the years, but that can’t be what frames our mindset going forward,” he said after the loss to Barnet in early February.

Before the trip to Grimsby Town in their next game, he again underscored that belief.

“Every year is tough. I’m certainly not looking back. I never will because this is a completely different group and team,” he said.

However, Walsall’s style under Sadler – making the most out of limited possession with chances at a relative premium – was always vulnerable to criticism when wins dried up.