Walsall goalkeeper Clayton Ince today hailed his record-equalling defence – but insisted their exploits will mean nothing without promotion.
Saddlers equalled the club record of 19 clean sheets in a league season with their goalless draw at promotion rivals Wycombe on Saturday.
And Ince, who will match the Saddlers’ individual record for a keeper with one more shut-out, paid tribute to the young defenders who recorded a third straight clean sheet at Adams Park.
But the giant keeper made it clear Saddlers must now push on to claim promotion to make the record worthwhile.
Ince said: “The lads have done really well. Most of them are pretty young, but they are also good players, and to keep three clean sheets in a row at this stage of the season is a great achievement.
“I set myself a target of 20 clean sheets for the season in all competitions and I’ve reached that now, so I’m happy but we’ve got to keep going. We need to make sure that these clean sheets are a contribution towards promotion.
“We go to MK Dons for a massive game next weekend and it’s vital that we don’t lose to them. We know that another clean sheet against them would keep them below us so that’s what we’ll be aiming for.”
Saturday’s clean sheet was Saddlers’ 19th in the league this season, equalling the record set by in 1947-48 and matched in 1998-99.