AFTER seeing his side grab their second home win in succession, a 2-1 success over Walsall, Town boss Martin Ling admitted that it was better to be a lucky manager than a good one.

Ling was ready to withdraw Louis Thompson just before the midfielder scored the 90th minute winner, with Anton Rodgers stripped and ready.

Thompson was impressive on his return to the side and added energy and dynamism to Town in the middle of the park.

Walsall were undoubtedly the better team though. Ling openly said so post-game, but the visitors never held a lead and had to fight from a goal down after Jonathan Obika’s first-half header opened the scoring.

Tom Bradshaw got the leveller after the break and it looked as if Dean Smith’s Saddlers would go on to get all three points.

Thompson’s intervention changed all that, but in a frank assessment Ling concluded that Town had been fortunate to steal a victory.

“Sometimes you’re better off being a lucky manager than a good one,” Ling told the local media.

“Anton Rodgers was just getting ready to come on for him and then we got the breakaway and scored.

“It was a frustrating (performance) if I’m totally honest.

“I don’t think we played very well. We were backs against the wall against a good Walsall side - they have not been beaten away from home this season and they showed that.

“What I give my players credit for is they stuck at it and they battled and probably scored on our only two attacks.

“The fluid football that we want and the passing that we want as a team, sometimes it has to come off the back of a couple of battling results.

“Fleetwood was really poor but today we had a bit of a footballing lesson from a very good Walsall team on the ball.

“We were chasing the ball for most of the night but it’s three points.

“There were many points before I was here when they passed it well and got nothing, tonight we didn’t pass it well but got three points against a very good Walsall team.”