Central to Grant’s plan to be more potent and to have more possession will be recruitment.
Walsall, who scored 56 goals in 46 league games last term, parted company with 19 players at the end of last season and have, so far, made one new signing – striker Andy Dallas – while veteran forward Albert Adomah has agreed a fresh one-year deal.
Director of football Stewart Mairs told the forum he wants “a leaner squad” of around 23 players and said more arrivals are imminent.
“I think we’ll have two, hopefully three, done by the weekend – they will be permanents and they will be starters, so suddenly that looks a little bit more healthy,” he said.
“We had the 19th worst home record last season, so if we want to be aggressive, we’re going to have to put players on the field who can give us different looks at times.”
Mairs said although Walsall have “three or four good quality loan options” at the moment, he did not want to be “over reliant” on that market.
“I don’t want to do this again in 12 months’ time, where I’m having to recreate a squad of 15 players,” he said.
“So the idea is to bring in assets that are good and are with us on this journey of two, three years but also guys we want to fit into a new manager’s style of play and the business model of the club.
“Are we able to put together a squad that we believe is going to be capable of challenging and taking us to League One? Yes. Does that mean it’s easy? No.”
Grant added that whoever comes in, he will have the final say.
“They’ll be my players. If I didn’t think I could have my players, I just wouldn’t have taken the job,” he said.
“We’ve got an opportunity here to shape something. I have to want these players in the building, and they have to fit the things that I want to be able to do with them.
“We’re all very much on the same page and have a really clear idea of what a Walsall player needs to look like.”
The full forum will be broadcast on BBC Radio WM between 1800-1900 BST on Thursday, 18 June and is also be available via BBC Sounds.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(471x244:473x246)/CNN-New-Years-Eve-with-Anderson-Cooper-123124-9952e5f00fc1425f87113ba2bfb97b29.jpg "Anderson Cooper Says He Once ‘Hated’ New Year’s Eve While Co-Hosting CNN Broadcast")
