RATHER like the serene swan gliding on the lake while its legs paddled furiously underneath, Wanderers managed to make a mockery of the madness going on around them to put three priceless points on the board.

To bounce back in such style after a sticky patch of results and a season-ending injury to Lawrie Wilson is one thing – but to do it against the backdrop of such open boardroom warfare the week before is something else altogether.

Walsall had proved such stubborn opposition with 10 men at the Banks’s Stadium back in September. This time they were despatched with clinical precision, hardly any waste and a minimum of fuss.

There were big performances all over the pitch. Gary Madine, unmarkable at times, scored and had a hand in the third, Josh Vela was back to his energetic best, and new boy Chris Long produced a sizzling finish in a memorable cameo at the end.

Plenty had been said and written about the problems between owners Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth and by kick off, fans were sick and tired of the whole thing.

Phil Parkinson had found his preparations for the game overshadowed by the squabbling and incessant statements. To implement a new 3-5-2 system on the training ground at that stage was a brave move indeed but one which paid off handsomely.

Matching up the formation Walsall have employed for some time now, Parkinson entrusted new signing Filipe Morais and fit-again Andy Taylor as his wing-backs and also brought Liam Trotter into midfield for the first time since those unsavoury scenes at Coventry.

Risky, perhaps, but the Whites boss got a performance out of every one of his players which revived some of the promotion spirit which had flagged since that wonderful win against Scunthorpe United.

A back three of Derik Osede, David Wheater and Mark Beevers looked solid – and could hardly be blamed for Erzun Oztumer’s 40-yard screamer which opened the scoring.

For a few brief minutes the unhappiness around the stadium threatened to seep down to the pitch. Grumbles became audibly louder as the ball got worked back to Ben Alnwick but Wanderers held firm.

Madine has cut an isolated figure at times in recent weeks in a 4-2-3-1, and his performances had started to suffer. Here, with the opportunistic Adam Le Fondre sniffing around him for scraps, the big striker looked in his element.

A brave header on 15 minutes levelled the scores but his link-up play throughout the day was first class, and this was a marked return to form.

Jay Spearing had provided the corner for Madine’s seventh goal of the season and he again popped up on the wing to cross for James O’Connor to bundle the ball into his own net for the second.

It got even better when Madine chested down for Trotter to power a dipping volley past Neil Etheridge for the third with just half an hour on the clock.

It was then a question of how adventurous Wanderers really felt.

Vela buzzed around in search of another goal and Morais picked up from where he left off last week at MK Dons, his traditional winger style sticking out in a team which had lacked width all season.

The visitors had been on a five-game unbeaten run and had a decent spell either side of a half time break elongated by a medical emergency in the tunnel.

Referee’s assistant Helen Byrne was taken to hospital for treatment, prompting fourth official Seb Stockbridge to take the flag in the second half.

The delay ran to 15 minutes and with temperatures dropping, the home support did not sound in the mood to hang around.

The Saddlers stared strongly and might have grabbed another goal back when Joe Edwards’ cross found its way to Flo Cuvellier – the Belgian stabbing the ball past Alnwick, only for Beevers to hook it off the line.

Stockbridge signalled no goal, as did referee Darren Drysdale. And Walsall’s best chance to get back into the game had gone.

The introduction of Chris Long on 72 minutes swung things back in Wanderers’ favour. The young Burnley striker had worked hard in Milton Keynes last week but missed a big chance, which slightly soured his debut. Here, his electric pace against tiring legs put him on a different level.

The fourth goal, which really must be seen in real time to be fully appreciated, was something special.

Vela won the bouncing ball in midfield, releasing Long down the right and he outstripped Adam Chambers before driving a powerful shot past Etheridge at his near post which nearly tore a hole in the net.

He should have had a second moments later after springing the offside trap, this time opting to try and chip the keeper but getting nowhere near enough on the shot.

That would have given us chance to dig the old “Famous Five” headline out, as used when Tony Caldwell put Walsall to the sword back in 1983. But, alas, it was not to be.

Four goals was plenty and evidence, perhaps, that while the squad lost quality in Zach Clough and Sammy Ameobi in the January window, it gained more tactical flexibility.

For football to have the final word in a week of many, many wasted column inches was a blessing. And a timely reminder of what we were all doing huddled together on a freezing Saturday evening in the first place.