Exclusive: "Dig deep" - Lee Hendrie sends Walsall promotion message as Bradford City lurk | OneFootball

The Saddlers have seen their lead at the top of League Two diminish over the past few weeks

Former Aston Villa man Lee Hendrie is hopeful Walsall can get over the line in their quest for promotion from League Two this season, despite the Saddlers' recent struggles.

Mat Sadler’s side were sitting high and mighty at the top of the fourth tier around the turn of the year, with a double-digit advantage over their nearest rivals leaving many already toasting them as Champions elect at the season's midway mark.

But things have been far from straightforward over the past few weeks at the Bescot, with a run of two wins in eleven league games seeing the chasing pack reel them back in heading into the final two months of the season.

With Bradford City now just two points behind in second spot heading into tonight's game with Bromley, and the buffer within the automatic promotion spots now seven points, Hendrie still believes the Midlands outfit have what it takes to complete the job over the next ten games.

Lee Hendrie rues Stoke City decision which hampered Walsall promotion push

Much of Walsall’s early season form came down to the goals of Stoke City loanee Nathan Lowe, with the forward netting 15 goals in his 22 league appearances during his time as a Saddler.

A further five assists made the 19-year-old the standout player in the fourth tier during the start of the campaign before the Potters made the decision to bring him back to the bet365 Stadium in the January transfer window.

It is no coincidence that the wretched run of form started almost immediately after the hotshot had left the club, and Hendrie believes that departure hit the club hard ahead of the second-half of the season.

Speaking exclusively to FLW, the ex-England international said: “Walsall have had an unbelievable season, there is no doubting that.

“What Mat Sadler has done there, and I know Darren Byfield on the coaching staff who is a very good friend of mine, and I think they surprised themselves and ended up finding themselves in a really good position, and have done all season.

“But losing players at a key time of the season, with Nathan Lowe going back to Stoke, he is a big miss for them because he was scoring goals.

“Obviously, you have Jamille Matt, who is experienced in those divisions, but it is a long season and you can never rule anything out in that division because it is relentless and there is so many games.”

Lee Hendrie makes Walsall promotion prediction

Keeping up such high standards throughout the whole campaign would have been a tough ask at the best of time for the high-flying Saddlers, but with a lack of options to choose from, the relentless nature of a League Two campaign is starting to hit them hard.

Having thrown away leads against Cheltenham Town, Carlisle United and Grimsby Town over the past few weeks, the league leaders have lost their ability to see a game out of late, which could be due to the minutes in the legs of their trusted players throughout the campaign.

With first-team regulars like Liam Gordon, Ryan Stirk, Connor Barrett and Taylor Allen barely missing a minute of league action all season, now comes the time for the team to pull together to keep the momentum going, and earn a promotion that their early-season performances more than merited.

Hendrie continued: “The squad depth might just be taking its toll on Walsall. Bradford are on their heels but they just need to dig deep in this latter stage of the season, and hopefully they don’t fail.

“But you do feel they want that finish line as soon as possible because there are certainly teams that are hotting up and trying to catch them up.”