Walsall need 'reset' after Wembley loss - Gordon

Liam Gordon joined Walsall from Bolton in the summer of 2022 and has made 139 appearances since

Walsall defender Liam Gordon says the players and the club need a "reset" following their defeat in the League Two play-off final.

The Saddlers' 1-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon ended their hopes of promotion to the third tier. They had a 12-point lead at the top of the table with 11 games of the regular season left.

"It's very emotional," Gordon told BBC Radio WM.

"We're going to have to feel these emotions and deal with it - there's no running away and hiding from it.

"It's a tough time and a tough moment that we're in."

Despite bouncing back from the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion to breeze past Chesterfield in the play-off semi-finals, Walsall could not find a way past Wimbledon at Wembley.

Myles Hippolyte's first-half strike proved enough for the Wombles, who sealed their League One return after three years away.

"It was always going to be a tough game - they've got the best clean-sheet record in the division," Gordon said.

"It was going to be a tight game. We lost and we've got to refocus for another 10 months for another season.

"We're going to have to reset as players, and as a club, to go again."

'I've got to pull myself together and go again'

Walsall's pain at missing out on promotion will likely feel more acute given how dominant they were for much of the season.

But an inexplicable run of 13 games without a win saw Mat Sadlers' side slip from promotion near-certainties to outsiders in the lottery of the play-offs.

Gordan said it had been a taxing season from start to finish, not just when results started to desert them.

"It's not just since February when we had a big blip in form, the whole season's been mentally, psychologically and physically tough," he said.

"A lot of the players haven't been in this situation before - being top of the table for so long and doing things that others didn't think we were going to do, and be in a position they didn't think we'd be in.

"I've got to pull myself together and go again."

Gordon, who fought back from nearly losing his leg after a freak training-ground injury three years ago, said his time at Walsall has been "unbelievable".

"I've got nothing but good things to say about the fans and the gaffer, especially," he said.

"It's been a tough season for the gaffer but he's been unbelievable and I'll back him all the way.

"I just want nothing but success for the club."