Smith: Julian Gray the key to goals

Julian Gray has been targeted by manager Dean Smith to get the goals that will keep Walsall in league one

Gray is joint second top scorer with 8 goals and has be honed into a (mostly) impressive attacking winger role since Smith's appointment as manager 4 months ago.

He was installed in a more striking position than winger in the Brighton defeat and Smith has said this is the way forward for league one survial.

He told the Birmingham Mail: 'Julian could give us a bit of vitality and energy up there..he has played there before and he gave it a good go.'

However, this switch out has bore out of necessity as Darren Byfield has failed to provide the edge in the striker position. He spent most of the season injured and returned on 26th February for the Rochdale game but has scored only once since then.

Smith has admitted that the 34 year old is not completely up to the challenge.

Smith added: Darren has admitted that he is not 100 per cent at the moment and we need players who are 100 per cent."

This is positive as Gray has been a rare constant in the team alongside Matthew Richards and he is the sort of player who can really get the ball moving across the pitch.

Gray sympathised with the fans on the very real prospect of relegation when he concluded: 'throughout the summer we don`t want to be thinking 'we`ve been relegated, it`s League Two next season....it`s not something to look forward to."

We only have two days to find out how this pans out!

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