Jon Whitney has been placed in charge of the first team at Walsall

Walsall have announced that performance coach Jon Whitney is to take charge of the first team following Sean O'Driscoll's dismissal.

The Saddlers are in the thick of the Sky Bet League 1 promotion race but O'Driscoll was fired on Sunday in the wake of Saturday's 3-1 home loss to Barnsley.

That was Walsall's sixth game without a win and, while they remain fourth in the table, they have fallen five points off the pace in the race for automatic promotion.

And the club announced on Monday that Whitney would be taking charge ahead of Saturday's trip to Chesterfield.

He will be assisted by first team coach Neil Cutler and professional development coach John Ward.