Walsall defender Julian Bennett says the Saddlers ' impressive end to this season in League One has given the club optimism they could achieve promotion next term.
Paul Merson's side, who finish their campaign at home basement side Stockport County on Saturday, have won four and drawn one of their last five matches.
And Bennett says the team's form means everyone at the club is looking forward to mounting a serious push for promotion next season after a disappointing year back in the third tier of English football.
Bennett said: "We have shown we are one of the best teams in the league recently. We have finally learned to grind out some wins.
"Next season we are definitely looking to get promoted because the form we have showed towards the end of this season has been encouraging. If we can keep that going I can't see any problems."
Walsall's dramatic improvement in fortunes can be traced to the arrival of a quintet of new faces - Craig Pead, Julian Joachim, Andy Oakes, Anthony Gerrard and David Perpetuini - prior to last month's transfer window.
Bennett hopes all the new recruits will stay at the club helping Walsall avoid the drop, and the defender, who is close to regaining his fitness after a knee ligament injury, also said he was pleased Merson would be remaining in charge at Bescot Stadium.
He added: "When things go wrong you want to put them right for him [ Merson] because he has showed faith in us. We feel we have let him down if we lose.
"He has shown us that he is not afraid to give young players a chance here and a lot of us owe him a great deal. With him in charge next season, there is a lot to look forward to." n Bennett was speaking at the launch of Walsall's new Nike kit for next season. The club hope their three-year deal with the fashionable manufacturer will improve merchandise sales.
