Darrell Clarke pledges to move on Walsall’s ‘weak-minded’ players

Angry boss Darrell Clarke promised to “weed out” weak-minded Walsall players after an injury-time Carlisle goal condemned his 10-man Saddlers to a 2-1 defeat.

Harry McKirdy’s looping header in the fourth minute of added time gave Chris Beech his first league win as Carlisle boss after Nathan Thomas’ opener for United was cancelled out by Elijah Adebayo.

Walsall skipper James Clarke was red-carded for pulling back a clean-through McKirdy with the score at 1-1 13 minutes from time and the Saddlers’ failure to hold out for a point irked their boss.

Clarke said: “I’m very angry with the mentality at the end, there are too many weak-minded players on the pitch to see a game through and I will weed them out. They will be quickly moved on.

“I don’t give a monkeys that we’d had one defeat in 11, I couldn’t care less. People might think I’m being a bit harsh and critical but I don’t care. Should have we won the game? Yes.

“We have had plenty of chances to win the game but the biggest disappointment for me is the last two minutes, the goal is an absolutely shocking goal.

“Yes we were down to 10 men but we have to be brave and make good decisions. I have let them know my feelings and we will see what response we get.

“The reason why we’re not in in the top seven or even the top half of the table is because we haven’t won enough home games and that’s down to mentality.”

Carlisle, meanwhile, rose two places to 19th with the win – Beech’s first in five league attempts since succeeding Steven Pressley in November.

It moved them eight points above the solitary relegation place and Beech has seen enough to convince him Carlisle will be safe.

Beech said: “The players have all been very good since I have come in. I know we still have to raise standards, there’s no question about that.

“Today, after Walsall equalised, it was a question of psychology. And we came back from that, which I’m really pleased with. The lads stuck to the task.

“I got a tap on the shoulder that results below us had been good today and they were good on Boxing Day. A point is so vital and three points is magnificent.

“We’ve lost one game since I’ve been here, we’ve stopped conceding and in four of those games we’ve been in front so that would suggest, yeah, we will be alright.

“But I don’t like ‘alright’, I like excellent and elite and I want to try to be the best. I just have to make sure we stick to what I class as winning traits.”