George Bennett discusses his interview with Walsall striker Jamille Matt.
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00:00Hi folks, I was at Essington yesterday, where Jamil Matt was the man put in front of the media, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to ask him, at the age of 35, how many years he believes he has left in the tank.
00:17And from everything he said, really, suggests that retirement is by no means on his mind. I kind of said that I wasn't implying necessarily that he was going to be hanging up his boots, but it would be a fitting final chapter to sign off what's been a glittering career in the EFL with his local club, Walsall.
00:43And he said it would be a nice story, but he's very focused on the next game and he feels good. And as long as he feels good, he's going to continue playing, obviously out of contract at the end of the season.
00:59But he's been a key player to Walsall and kind of finished the question really with future chapters, which was greeted with a nod and a smile. So it seems that Jamil Matt has no intentions of hanging up his boots at this stage, which is great.
01:21Obviously, been a key player for Walsall this season and even the second half of the previous campaign. And he's undergone a remarkable renaissance during Matt Sadler's spell at Walsall and arrived at the club during a difficult period in the wake of Danny Johnson's recall from Mansfield, which proved catastrophic to Walsall's early season playoff hopes.
01:49Went on a dreadful run and also sort of had a couple of niggling injuries, which held him back. And then even sort of the first half of Matt Sadler's debut campaign, he was sort of on the fringes.
02:06But the way in which Matt Sadler always spoke of him was in glowing terms, a huge mutual respect between the pair. And yeah, that relationship has been hugely beneficial for Walsall and the trust that the two have. Matt has run for brick walls for him ultimately.
02:27And even last season when he had injury issues towards the back end of the campaign, Sadler was managing his minutes and I guess really Matt was playing through the pain barrier. And he was handed a one-year extension.
02:44And I think despite the fact that the form was there for all to see at times last season, I don't even think many fans would have thought that he would quite have the impact that he's had this season. Struck up a fantastic partnership with the departed Nathan Lowe, obviously scored 18 goals.
03:01I guess a little bit overshadowed in some ways because of Nathan Lowe's goal scoring exploits, but equally key, the pair struck up a really good understanding of each other. I mean, some of the goals that Lowe scored were very much kind of generated by Matt's movement with his ability to take markers out of the game.
03:25He serves as a huge focal point. And of course, his goals, especially now Lowe's been recalled by Stoke City last month, are going to be key if Walsall want to try and sort of not revive necessarily because there's still seven points clear at the top of the table, but get this League Two title charge back on track.