Michael Appleton set for talks with Shrewsbury Town hierarchy over future
Michael Appleton has revealed he will hold talks with Shrewsbury Town next week regarding the club’s plans for the future.
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The 49-year-old signed a short-term contract at the Croud Meadow until the end of the season when he replaced Gareth Ainsworth as head coach more than two weeks ago.
Salop head to Lincoln this weekend knowing that if they fail to get a better result than 20th-placed Bristol Rovers, relegation to the fourth tier of English football will be confirmed.
At this point, whether it happens at the LNER Stadium or not, it is a formality that Town will drop out of League One, and Appleton revealed talks will take place on Tuesday next week about which direction they head in next and he is hoping for a 'positive discussion'.
He said: "I think it's one of them where when you're in a role, rightly or wrongly, you start talking about next season - thinking and planning.
"Even though my contract doesn't suggest that that's the case, it's just a natural, it's what you do.
"You just start planning and thinking, right, OK, if we got him here, we could do this and I could change this.
"So, those types of conversations, quite openly, I've been having with Mick (Micky Moore, director of football) and staff daily anyway.
"Now, whether that happens or not, obviously, is yet to be seen.
"But I think we're due to sit down next week, I think it's Tuesday, to discuss, obviously, what potentially could happen next season.
"It's something that hopefully will be a positive discussion.”
The former Portsmouth and Oxford boss had been out of work for some time before he was appointed by Shrewsbury.
And he says he has loved being back out on the training pitch coaching.
He said: “When I first came in, the first interview, it had been a while and I think as an individual, you've got to find out if that fire's still burning, that passion. What I have found out is that it's burning more than ever. I love being on the grass, that's what I do best.
"But I've enjoyed the other side of it as well. I've enjoyed trying to build the team and shape the team in a different way. The feedback I've been getting from players, staff and fans, etc has been positive."
