Cup win 'incredibly powerful' for Walsall - Grant
· Yahoo Sports
Walsall boss Lee Grant agreed that his side's outstanding result in the Carabao Cup against Bristol City has set a high bar at the start of the season - and was happy they showed what they can achieve so early.
The Saddlers, using three centre-backs in Grant's first competitive game in charge, showed superb defensive resolve throughout, ensuring Aaron Pressley's well-worked goal two minutes into the second half was enough to see off their Championship hosts and book their place in the second round.
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Former Huddersfield head coach Grant became Mat Sadler's permanent replacement at Walsall in May and has been busy rebuilding the squad over the summer for another shot at promotion in League Two.
He gave a debut to seven new signings at Ashton Gate and told BBC Radio WM he could not have asked for a better response from his new-look team.
"It had all the hallmarks of everything we talked about before the game, so that's incredibly powerful for the group because they set their stall out to do what they ended up doing," Grant said.
"We understood the task ahead of us - obviously a team that's two leagues above - and you see the quality on display from them.
"They played really well. put us under a lot of stress, but our group was fantastic with the way they stood up to it, the way they defended and how together they were. It's a really pleasing start."
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'It's our first opportunity to show ourselves to the world'
Walsall begin their league campaign at Gillingham on 15 August and, although a sustained promotion challenge after near misses in the last two seasons remains the priority, Grant said beating the Robins sends out a strong message that the Saddlers look like they mean business.
"Yeah and why not?" he said. "We're still growing as a group [and] we're certainly not going to get carried away on the back of this performance.
"You might want to say the real stuff starts next week, but no. I said before the game I wasn't going to hide behind the fact this was a Carabao Cup game. I'm not going to hide behind the fact this was a side two leagues above us because it's our first game.
"It's our first opportunity to show ourselves to the world. And hopefully we've given a good impression of ourselves."