Tom tipped for the top

TOM Adeyemi

TOM Adeyemi could add some all-important potency from midfield as he ratchets up towards full speed.

The 19-year-old took some time before fully hitting his straps in a loan spell with Bradford City in npower League Two last season. His first prolonged spell in senior football yielded five goals.

The indications are that the well-regarded athletic Norwich City prospect is seeking to add at least the same number to his tally at a higher level with Athletic in the near future — marking him out as a similar figure to last season's 10-goal playmaker Dale Stephens.

"Once the players get used to how Tom plays, he will be a goal threat for us,” said Athletic manager Paul Dickov, who praised Adeyemi for the way he immediately settled into life at his new club.

"He can play and he makes fantastic runs into the box — something we have not had since Dale left.

"And he will score goals for us. He is a 19-year-old kid but his attitude in training and in the way he handles himself is way beyond his years."

Both the sponsors' and Chronicle star man in the drab 1-1 draw with Stevenage on Saturday, Adeyemi's first thoughts at Walsall tonight (7.45pm kick-off) will be turned towards prevention by Dickov.

Last term, the two sides fought out a pair of 1-1 draws and the Athletic boss is concerned that his side don't give anything away too cheaply at the Bescot Stadium.

"We had two really good, hard games against them last season," he added.

"They have got Jon Macken up front, who is a threat, and good players all over the field who are hard to break down. They try to play football the right way.

"On their day, they can beat anybody and like any other side in this division, are striving for consistency.

"They are a good team and we have to make sure we set up properly without the ball to give ourselves a base to play.

"It is a game I believe we can win. We had a chat with the boys and as much as we are all disappointed — players, staff and fans — we can't turn the clock back to three o'clock on Saturday afternoon.

"We have to learn from it and there is no better thing in football than having another game so close to the one you have just played in.

"Whether I am mad or naive, I don't know. But I believe when we go out, we can win every game we play.

"But we have to have better quality on the ball and get our better players into the game. And when that happens, they have to produce."

Walsall have been beaten in their last two league fixtures, by the only goal of the game at home to Brentford and at Notts County on Saturday.

Slow starts have cost the Saddlers dear and new midfield arrival from Leyton Orient, Adam Chambers, is keen to arrest that pattern.

“You don’t like losing or getting into a losing run and we need to put it right," he said. "We want to start well and we’re trying to do that but we’ve got to get on the front foot straight away.

“In both games (against Brentford and Notts County) if we’d started like we have done in the second half we could have had two different results. We can’t quite put our finger on why it takes 45 minutes to get going and we have to rectify it."