Ince out to break record
expressandstar.co.uk
Walsall keeper Clayton Ince today set a target of 20 clean sheets for the new season after smashing the club record in last season’s title victory.
The 35-year-old reckons he can threaten his own record of 20 shut-outs in the new campaign despite the step up to League One level.
And Ince is confident that the new-look Saddlers team can help him scale last season’s heights again.
“Every season I look for 20 clean sheets, give or take,” said the former Crewe keeper.
“You might not get it, but you set yourself high goals. Strikers set themselves targets for scoring goals and my aim is always to keep clean sheets.
“It’s a tougher challenge. I don’t think it’s impossible if I put my mind to it because I have a good team in front of me.
“On the occasions when the team doesn’t stop things, hopefully I’ll be there to help them out. My aim is getting those 20 clean sheets.”
Ince was a huge hit in his first season at the Banks’s Stadium last year as he kept 23 clean sheets in all competitions, playing in all-but-one of the club’s first-team matches.
Twenty of the shut-outs came in League Two as Walsall won their first title in 47 years. The figure broke the previous club record of 19 clean sheets, held jointly by Jim Lewis and James Walker.
Ince signed a new two-year contract in one of the most significant deals of the summer. And after a slight injury at the start of pre-season he is fit.
“Pre-season has gone pretty well for me,” he said. “We’ve all be working hard trying to correct mistakes from last year.
“I need to get myself strong to avoid injuries and pre-season has a lot to do with that.
“I had a slight niggle but that’s part and parcel of coming back from a long season.
“I played almost all of the games last season and at my age the body can only take so much so I just have to take care and make sure I’m well.
“Jon Whitney (physio) has been doing a fantastic job.”
