MIDWEEK goal hero Jon Macken is looking forward to facing Brighton – so he can show he’s still got what it takes.

Macken is expected to start up front as the Saddlers look to continue their Great Escape charge against the Sussex side, who have already gained promotion to the Championship.

The striker rolled back the years in midweek by scoring a superb brace and showed glimpses of his younger days.

The former £5 million man was snapped up by Manchester City for that hefty sum in 2002 and now, aged 33, he is still looking to impress.

“As players you want to be involved in the big games and against the best teams to see how good we are,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to the game against Brighton.

“As far as Brighton are concerned they have won promotion but they will now want to push on and claim the League One Championship, so it’s a challenge we are looking forward to.

“We believe we can beat anyone on our day and now we have to go out and show it today.”

Macken scored a screamer in the first half of Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory over Brentford to level the scores at one apiece.

He then went on to grab the winner minutes after Brentford had cancelled out Jordan Cook’s first goal for the club.

“For me personally it is nice to score goals but it’s all about getting those three points,” he added.

“The way I got my first goal was good because I’ve been trying that in training for a while now.

“I’m glad it came off. As soon as the ball was in the air I knew what I was going to do.

“It was a good goal, but the main thing for me was that we got the three points.”

Now Walsall are out of the relegation zone, Macken believes they need to hold their nerve in the final five games.

“At the moment it seems that we need something to happen to put us into gear and it is difficult to work out why that is,’’ he said.

“We’re in the position now where we need to stand up and be counted. We have to be brave both individually and as a team in order to stay out of the relegation zone.”