Anthony Gerrard: I'm playing for free at Shrewsbury

The 29-year-old defender made his debut as a substitute in Saturday's 2-0 win against high-flying Bury.

Gerrard has signed non-contract forms after being without a club since being released from Huddersfield in May.

He believes the difficulty he's had finding a club is due to an undeserved reputation as an outspoken character.

Asked if he was playing for free, he said: "Yes. I think I could be the first Football League player to do that.

"But the money is the furthest thing from my mind. I just want to re-establish myself because you can get forgotten about really quickly in football."

Gerrard believes he has suffered from his honesty after asking why he wasn't in the team at Huddersfield last season.

"It was a case of no-one wanted to take me. I seem to have a bad press just for being an honest lad," he said.

"Last year I spent the first part of the season in the wilderness at Huddersfield then when I started asking why I got bombed out.

"I had coaches bad mouthing me to coaches I'd worked with previously.

"It (his honesty) has been detrimental to my career but if you've got a manager who likes honesty – which this manager does – I'm your man."

And the cousin of former England skipper Steven Gerrard insists he's not a troublemaker.

"That couldn't be further from the truth," he said. "But in football people don't like players who ask questions.

"They just want to be shepherds and the players to be the sheep – and I'm definitely not a sheep."

Gerrard insists no talks have taken place about a permanent deal.

"We haven't spoken about it – I'd be doing myself an injustice with my fitness as it is," he said. "But I feel fit and strong and I know I can play for 90 minutes."