Walsall part company with former Shrewsbury Town favourite Mat Sadler

Sadler has been under-fire for a number of weeks, after a run of just two wins from the last 14 games has seen Walsall plummet from the league summit into 11th.

The Saddlers are the only team in the division yet to win at home in 2026 and their 2-1 defeat against Notts County on Saturday extended their winless run to seven games at Bescot.

First team coach Darren Byfield will take interim charge for the trip to Crewe Alexandra on Saturday and will be assisted by Terry Connor.

The club have stated they are working through the next steps in their search for a new head coach and will provide further updates in due course.

"I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the significant efforts and contributions of Mat, both as a professional and as a person, during his time at the club," Co-Chairman Ben Boycott said.

"We thank him for his dedicated service and wish him the best for the future."

The former Shrewsbury defender succeeded Michael Flynn after a short spell as caretaker boss in May 2023 and guided Walsall to an 11th-place finish in his debut season.

Walsall set a club record nine successive league wins during his second campaign, but blew a 12-point lead at the League Two summit to miss out on automatic promotion altogether.

They collected just three wins from the final 21 games to fall short, but recovered to beat Chesterfield 4-1 over two legs in the play-off semi-finals.

That set-up the Saddlers' first trip to Wembley Stadium in a decade as Walsall suffered further heartache following a 1-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon.

Sadler was entrusted to rebuild again last summer and had them occupying the league summit as recently as Boxing Day.

But pressure has continued to build on Sadler during a wretched period, which reached a new low when Sadler suffered three successive league defeats for the first time on Tuesday.