No complaints from Saddlers boss

Smith's side have won only one of the last seven home league games after going down 2-0 to relegation-threatened Leyton Orient.

Second-half goals from Ryan Hedges and Chris Dagnall saw last season's play-off finalists continue their recent improvement.

"We got what we deserved," said Smith. "They won more second balls than us.

"We needed to get the ball in their half and play, but it took us too late to do that."

Smith does not think the fact that his players are heading for the club's first-ever Wembley appearance, in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final, is affecting them.

However, he warned them that if that was ever the case then they would not be playing in the show piece event against Bristol City.

Smith added: "Orient showed energy and enthusiasm. They won the game by winning the second balls and we have to be better than that. They set a trap and we played into it.

"Some of the players were affected by the fans' comments. We have to stick together as a group because the last couple of results have not been good, and we have to get back to where we were."

Orient narrowed the gap on Walsall in their fight to climb away from the bottom four and they looked the better side for most of the game, clinching back-to-back wins in which they have kept clean sheets.

The Saddlers barely worked O's goalkeeper Alex Cisak until stoppage time when he saved a fierce drive from substitute Amadou Bakayoko.

Orient boss Fabio Liverani said: "We are growing in our performances, defensively and offensively, and that was one of our best performances.

"I have stressed since I arrived about winning the second balls and we did that great. The players' confidence is coming back and we are showing real quality.

"Three wins out of four is great, but it is just the start of the route to get us out of relegation problems."

Asked about the players not being paid this week, Liverani said it was a technical problem with an international bank transfer and that it was not a big problem and would be sorted by Wednesday.