Ince happy to be the daddy
Express & Star
Goalkeeper Clayton Ince is prepared to act as a father figure for the Walsall youngsters as he looks for them to mature this season.
The 36-year-old, who is the oldest member of the Saddlers squad, towers above most of the Walsall squad in stature and maturity.
With Alex Nicholls and Netan Sansara returning to the starting line-up and Mark Bradley pushing for a place, Ince is happy to guide them through their fledging careers.
He said: “There is only so much I can do from a keeper’s point of view. Some of the senior lads have to help but we have to let them know that you cannot let your guard down.
“That is where maturity and concentration has to come in. You have to make sure the young lads have their heads on their shoulders in the right way.
“When you have a team to punish, you have to punish them and we cannot let them get back into the game.”
The Saddlers have started to eradicate the individual errors which have threatened to undermine their start to the season. Ince knows they need to continue in the same vein.
He said: “It is hard when you start off defending, because you cannot defend for 90 minutes, so the key is being able to get straight at teams.
“With young lads, concentration goes out the window when you are defending from the start, so getting on the front foot and staying there is the most important thing.
“You have to concentrate more when you are defending and those are the times where you make silly mistakes.”
Yet Ince has been impressed with the impact the youngsters have made this season and the way the club have brought them through.
He said: “That is what Walsall are trying to do - they are trying to get consistency and get the youngsters to mature quickly.
“There are a big bunch of teams who will be up at the top of the league but it is consistency and maturity in the team which is the key.”
