Darren Wrack hails Dean Smith's work at Walsall
Last updated on .From the section Football
Dean Smith has done enough to get the manager's job at Walsall on a full-time basis, the club's former long-serving midfielder Darren Wrack believes.
Smith, who is in charge until the summer, has guided the Saddlers to four wins and seven draws in 16 League One games since replacing Chris Hutchings.
"He's put Walsall in with a fighting chance of staying in the division," Wrack told BBC WM.
"He has proven what he is doing and it is working."
Walsall moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since October after beating Southampton 1-0 at the Bescot Stadium on 1 March.
But the Saddlers went back into the bottom four following last Tuesday's 2-0 home defeat against Leyton Orient.
They have scored three goals in eight games following Saturday's 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Yeovil, but have kept four clean sheets in seven matches.
Wrack said Smith had "turned things around" following Hutchings' departure in January.
He added: "Is it the right thing to give him the job? I think so, yeah.
"Can they bring someone in on the same sort of money, the same budget, who's going to do an equal kind of job, if not a better job?
"There's question marks there if they could do that."
Wrack said Smith and his assistant, Jon Whitney, have made a "fantastic contribution".
He said: "I had Walsall down for relegation I think like most people. They've made them [the players] believe."
