Micky Mellon: Town can be a real force

Town stunned one of the League One big guns again on Saturday when they earned a 1-1 draw at Peterborough, who had been seeking their seventh straight win.

The point was the latest occasion Salop have rocked one of the high-fliers after beating Bury and Sheffield United and drawing against Gillingham recently.

Shrewsbury now return to the Greenhous Meadow for three successive home games starting with tomorrow's FA Cup second-round replay against Grimsby.

And Mellon wants more of the same, saying: "We're improving all the time but we've got to continue to improve to be a force in this division.

"All over the pitch, we're looking more like being a force in this division which is what we want.

"We've had an unbelievable run of away games – six out of eight – and to play with the confidence we did on Saturday was superb.

"But it's not just been the number of away games, it's the opposition we've played against too.

"That's the way we want to perform all the time. You've got to be disciplined and get those basics right and I think we did that all over the pitch."

Substitute Tyrone Barnett scored on his first return to his old club and Mellon praised the hunger shown by the 30-year-old and fellow sub Liam McAlinden.

He said: "I hope they have a huge impact for us. They might not have had much football, but they work very hard so they're ready for situations like Saturday.

"We expected that kind of physical performance and we were delighted."

Mellon also hailed the 'stabilising' influence of Anthony Gerrard, who produced another stand-out performance.

The Town chief said: "He and others have stabilised us. Earlier in the season we weren't getting a foothold in enough games.

"We're pleased to have him. His performances have been very good."