Boss John Askey confident Shrewsbury squad strong enough to make changes
Boss John Askey will make changes for tonight’s Checkatrade Trophy opener against Manchester City Under-21s as he believes his squad is strong enough to cope.
The Shrewsbury chief sees the competition as a good opportunity to blood some of his squad players and get others up to speed.
He is also aware that the competition is an opportunity for his players to get off the mark with a win and build some momentum.
Askey reckons his 23-man senior squad is stocked enough to allow rotation and for his side to remain competitive.
“It’s a great opportunity to get to Wembley, but the league’s the most important thing,” said the boss.
“It gives us an opportunity to give players a game as well.
“Having a squad, which I believe is strong, there’s no reason why we can’t make changes in the Checkatrade and still do well.”
The Checkatrade Trophy took Shrewsbury all the way to Wembley under Paul Hurst last season, where a 1-0 reverse to Lincoln City was the club’s fourth national stadium defeat from four.
Askey does not accept the suggestion that a run to the Checkatrade Trophy final caused tiredness within Town’s ranks last season and affected a promotion bid.
Instead, he believes that momentum gained from victories in any competition can be a a bonus.
“You can look at it in two ways, (extra games and tiredness) can be the case or you could say (last season) they were used to winning,” he added.
“It breeds confidence and I would look at it that way. The more games you win the more confident you get. It probably helped in the league.
Tonight’s visitors for the 7pm kick-off, Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad, are top of Premier League 2 after two wins and a draw. Their victories consisted of 6-5 and 6-4 thrillers.
Askey added: “Whoever we play we know we’ll probably be chasing the ball a lot, it’ll be a different game than what we’re used to.
“Looking at the size of their squads they could put out a really strong team against us but we’ll see.”
Askey could call on the likes of Lee Angol, who scored on his full debut on Saturday, and Anthony Grant. Both had minimal pre-season programmes and are working towards full fitness.
The boss may also be tempted to select Fejiri Okenabirhie from the off.
