Shane Cansdell-Sherriff's Christmas wish

Defensive lynchpin Shane Cansdell-Sherriff has challenged Shrewsbury Town to stamp their authority on the League Two promotion race by breaking into the top two by Christmas.

Town return to League duty on Saturday when they make the the trip to Football League new boys Stevenage.

A promising start to the campaign has left Shrewsbury fourth in the table, but Australian Cansdell-Sherriff is looking for his side to improve on that over the next six weeks and cement an automatic promotion slot.

"We are fourth at the moment which is good but we want to be even further up the table and we think we have the ability to do that," said the 26-year-old.

"We need to back that belief up with performances and we would like to be in the top two by Christmas — that's the aim.

"We have got a good run of games coming up before Christmas and it's up to us to put the points on the board, starting at Stevenage on Saturday."

After a run of just one point in five games, Town's form on the road has been revived by a tweak in formation which has seen Jake Robinson employed as a lone striker with Craig Disley supporting from midfield and Mark Wright and Tope Obadeyi from wide areas.

That yielded a 2-1 victory at Crewe and an impressive performance at League One Southampton in the FA Cup, despite a 2-0 defeat.

And Cansdell-Sherriff is confident there will be no Cup hangover this weekend.

"It was disappointing but we had a chat about the game and have got it out of our systems," he added.

"We are ready for Saturday and we will need to be. Stevenage have done well this season and the reports from people who play against them suggest they are a big side so it's going to be quite interesting."

By JAMES GARRISON