Joe Riley sees his future at Shrewsbury Town after continued improvement

The former Bolton youth graduate has racked up 31 appearances in his debut Greenhous Meadow campaign.

The 25-year-old, signed by Micky Mellon from Bury last summer on a two-year deal, has managed to oust fans' favourite Jack Grimmer at right-back and caught the eye of new boss Paul Hurst shortly after his appointment.

Riley, who has recovered from a slight knock picked up against his former side on Saturday where he limped through the final stages of the game, is enjoying working on the training pitch with Hurst and No.2 Chris Doig – and feels he is improving. "Of course, I want to rise with the club," said Riley, who was linked with a number of Championship clubs in January.

"I feel like I've found a bit of a home here and I really enjoy it.

"If we stay up it'll be great to stay here next year and hopefully be part of something where we progress in the future.

"There are always things you can improve on and I'm always listening to them when they're picking out points I can improve on.

"It's always good that they want you to improve. I've worked under some managers where you have one good game for them and they think you're Cafu! You have one bad game and they think you're rubbish. With them it's really level ground and you know where you stand. They're always trying to improve you, even if you think you've had a good game, they'll come and pick points where you should've done better."

Riley dismisses that Salop's recent slump in form, which has left them just a point above League One's bottom four, has been down to an expectation of beating teams below them.

Town go to Bristol Rovers on Saturday hoping to end a run of four winless games.

He added: "I don't know, maybe it's a bit of confidence. It's hard to put your finger on it, if I did then I'd be a manager myself.

"It's been hard, there's been injuries to a couple of key players."