FLYNN TO FIRE UP JOSS AND CO
JOSS Labadie is confident that his old boss Michael Flynn can fill a gaping void on his CV by helping him secure a first career promotion.
The 31-year-old midfielder believes he has “not achieved anything” since starting out as a professional with West Brom back in 2008 but, having been reunited at Walsall with his former Newport manager, Labadie reckons Flynn can replicate his success in South Wales by transforming the Saddlers from League Two strugglers to high-fliers next season.
Labadie was a member of the Newport team that Flynn took charge of in March 2017 with the club 11 points adrift of a position of safety.
The Exiles went on to complete one of the greatest of great escapes on the final day of the campaign before Flynn appointed Labadie as captain that summer and the pair subsequently made it to Wembley play-off finals in 2019 and 2021.
On both occasions, County fell agonisingly short of securing League One status, but Labadie is certain that the 41-year-old Welshman can go one better with the Midlanders.
Following his mid-February appointment, Flynn picked up four wins and suffered just one defeat in his first eight games at the helm to stave off the growing threat of relegation after the reign of his predecessor Matt Taylor was terminated at the end of a run of seven straight losses.
And Labadie has firsthand experience of the galvanising powers Flynn can take into 2022-23, saying: “I’ve never achieved anything in my career, to be fair.
“I’ve never had a promotion and it’s something that I want. I am 31 now and I’m not going to get many more opportunities - I want to do it at Walsall.
“I think the gaffer can definitely help us do that – 100 per cent. We have got a body of players that have played at a higher level and there’s no reason why we can’t replicate the success we had at Newport together.
“There’s a lot of football still to be played this season and we need to get as many points as we can, because momentum is a big thing at this level.
“We proved that at Newport, where we went from relegation favourites to a good spell in the last ten games of that season before going on to be reasonably successful after that.”
While stressing that he enjoyed working under Taylor, Croydon-born Labadie also feels that Flynn has lifted his own standards this season, as well as those of the team he captains.
“We’ve got a good personal and working relationship,” Labadie declared. “He trusts me and I trust him.
Honest
“I am my own biggest critic and, this season, has not been ideal for me. I would have liked to have put in better performances, but I feel like I’m getting back to where I was at Newport.
“I have an honest relationship with the manager – if I’m not doing something and he wants to see more from me, then he’ll have no problem in telling me what he expects and that’s exactly how it should be. We’ve got lots of good memories together from our time at Newport.
“He’s a good guy and manager who knows how to get the best out of his players and we are reaping the rewards and going in the right direction. He’s instilled a bit of belief and revitalised us, because the confidence was quite low after seven straight defeats.
“He’s taken us back to basics and got us back to competing with every team in this league, as we were at the start of the season. We all want to do well for him and (assistant-manager) Hats (Wayne Hatswell).”