for a move elsewhere. In August, it was reported the O'Connor was training with Bristol City of League One with the view of a permanent transfer. On 2 September 2013, O'Connor signed a loan deal until 13 January with Bristol City again linking up with Sean O'Driscoll, with a view to a permanent transfer. However, he soon picked up a career threatening ruptured thigh injury in just his fourth appearance. He was ruled out for the remainder of the 2013–14 season and was released in the summer by new manager Steve McClaren. Walsall On 21 June 2014, O'Connor signed a one-year contract with League One side Walsall. "Saddlers" manager Dean Smith had this to say: "In James, we have signed an extremely reliable and solid defender. There were a lot of teams interested in him when he left Derby County, but I am delighted that he has chosen to come here. It certainly is a big bonus for us and I look forward to working with him." He was surprisingly not named in the starting lineup for the 2015 Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium, a 2–0 defeat to Bristol City, but denied rumours that he and Smith had fallen out over the issue. He was frequently used at right-back during the 2014–15 season, but returned to centre-back for the final stretch of the season as he helped Walsall to steer clear of the relegation zone, and led to him being nominated for the League One Player of the Month award. O'Connor was a key player in the Saddlers 2015–16 campaign where they missed out on automatic promotion by a single point. He scored two goals that season, including a goal against Premier League champions Chelsea in the League Cup fourth round. He dedicated the goal to his late grandad, who had passed away hours before. In March 2016, he signed a two-year extension to his contract to keep him at the club until summer 2018. Interim manager Jon Whitney stated that "he's been one of our most consistent performers this year and his experience is invaluable, on and off the pitch". Walsall struggled at the start of the 2016–17 season, before a switch to a 3–5–2 formation helped to shore up the defence. O'Connor left the club by mutual consent on 31 August 2017 after he was told that he did not feature in manager Jon Whitney's first-team