‘We’ve only picked up one point from our last three home games, but I’m going to be optimistic’ – Inside Track

Walsall are back on the road tomorrow, as they travel to Cambridge. Cambridge have surprised many this season, with their consistency in the league. I spoke with journalist, and Cambridge fan, Alex Jones, to get some insight into the opposition.

How would you rate your season so far?

Sensational. Out of 10? Probably a 9. Fans had hoped for a top half finish with a chance of the playoffs, but it now feels like we’re genuine contenders for automatic promotion. I think our time at the top of the table has been flattering (all our promotion rivals have at least one game in hand on us), but we’ve shown we’re one of the better sides in the division, and I don’t think anybody expected that. I think this is the weakest that League Two has been in a while, so it’s the biggest chance we’re going to get to earn promotion. Either way, the future is finally feeling a bit brighter, whatever position we’re in at the end of the campaign.

Cambridge are sat one point off top. What has changed this season to see you that far up the table?

Mark Bonner. He’s worked his way up through the ranks at Cambridge, managing the youth teams at almost all age groups. Eventually, after a successful interim period, the board chose him as our permanent manager. It was a huge risk, given that we appointed Joe Dunne in a similar scenario a few years ago which ended disastrously. But he’s changed the ethos at the club completely. We play attractive, attacking football and have a real winning mentality. He’s an incredibly passionate manager and the players look like they’d run through walls for him.

Can you finish in the top 3 come the end of the season?

It’s possible, for sure. I think Cheltenham and Forest Green are nailed on for automatic promotion, but there’s a lot of other teams in the race for that last spot, ourselves included. Tranmere and Bolton are the two I’m most worried about. On our day, I think we’re the best side in this division, but inconsistency has seen us drop too many points in games we should be winning (0-0 vs Southend, 1-0 loss vs Scunthorpe). The top teams in the division win those kinds of games. Our run-in is also incredibly difficult, facing almost all the sides in the top half of the table in our remaining matches.

Mullin is the leagues top scorer, how has he racked up so many goals?

He’s the first proper goalscoring striker we’ve had at the club since Kwesi Appiah in 2014/15. His movement is fantastic and he’s absolutely clinical in front of goal. He thrives off having Wes Hoolahan behind him, who is undoubtedly the best creative midfielder in the division. His partnership with Joe Ironside is also key – where Mullin maybe lacks in physicality, Ironside more than makes up for it. They play off each other incredibly well.

What system do you play?

We usually adopt a 4-4-2 formation, although have occasionally changed to a 4-4-1-1 when certain players are missing. We’re incredibly quick, and focus a lot of our play out wide. Our fullbacks press incredibly high, so while we can be incredibly hard to defend against, we’re sometimes left exposed if we lose the ball in an advanced area.

What areas do you feel the side need to improve?

We can be frustrating team to watch at times. We often play some incredible football, but just end up overplaying it or failing to find that finishing touch at the end of a move. Against Scunthorpe, we had 62% possession and 17 shots to their two. We ended up losing 1-0.

Finally, what do you know about the Saddlers? Predicitions for the game?

Walsall are a bit of a weird team in my eyes. On paper, I think your squad is good enough to challenge for the playoffs at least. But one win since Boxing Day is of course pretty disastrous, and hasn’t been helped by the sale of Elijah Adebayo and the sudden departure of Darrell Clarke. I can’t say I know too much about Brian Dutton, but I’m sure he’ll be desperate to get that first win under his belt after a solid draw against Exeter last time out. I’m also aware you’ve been using a five man defence in recent games, which I think would be sensible to use at The Abbey because struggle to break down teams that play with a low block. We’ve only picked up one point from our last three home games, but I’m going to be optimistic and say 2-1 Cambridge.