Walsall boss Michael Flynn said he nearly joined in with the supporters’ half-time jeers after seeing his Saddlers side beaten by play-off hopefuls Barrow.
Billy Waters’ ninth goal of the season earned Barrow a third 1-0 victory in four games and further damaged the Saddlers’ own fading top-seven hopes.
Walsall almost pinched a point in stoppage time as Isaac Hutchinson’s volley was superbly saved by Paul Farman but Flynn admitted that would have been more than they deserved.
“The goal was against the run of play but then the next 20 mins of the first half was one of the worst performances of any of my teams,” fumed Flynn.
“I could have made eight changes at half-time. They were rightly booed off – first half I nearly started booing and I agree with the fans because we went to pot as soon as they scored.
“We didn’t pick up any second balls first half, we didn’t win first contacts and that’s the frustrating thing for me. We looked like a rabbit stuck in the headlights after they scored.
“We got gradually better after the break without having too much quality in the final third.”
Walsall are 14th after a nine-match winless run and while they have games in hand, they are now 12 points off the top seven.
“I’ll fight until the end. We need a win, the boys are down, they are licking their wounds,” Flynn said.
“The players care but if they think we can’t get in the play-offs, how much do they put their bodies on the line? I’ll be finding that out in the next eight or nine weeks.”
Barrow, meanwhile, moved within four points off the top seven and could have won by more as headers from Sam McClelland and Rory Feely were cleared off the line and hit the post respectively.
“I wanted us to be the aggressor and come out of the traps and give Walsall something to think about,” said pleased Barrow boss Pete Wild.
“That was my pre-match message to the players, let us be on the front foot and dictate play and I thought we did that.
“We’ve had our chances but on another day they think they probably deserve a point. They’ve had 17 crosses into our box but we’ve defended resolutely and that shows what this team is about.
“Wins breed confidence at any club and we are going into games full of confidence.
“To have got 51 points, which I know is a record for the club in the EFL, just shows how far these boys have come this season.
“Where do we go from here? We’ll go and enjoy the week, let’s see what we can get next week and what will be, will be.”
