Shaun Whalley wants Shrewsbury Town to repay boss John Askey with wins
Shaun Whalley has called on Shrewsbury Town to start repaying boss John Askey with the wins he deserves.
Town have won just once in 11 games in League One this season ahead of today’s visit of in-form Accrington Stanley.
Whalley admitted that, while the buck stops with the manager, it is time for the players to step up and produce the goods to lift Salop from their lowly position of 19th.
“We’re all working hard. The manager’s working as hard as anyone to turn the tide,” said Town’s No.7.
“All managers are pretty similar at the end of the day.
“I can honestly say I really enjoy playing for the manager. The way he sets the team up is good, I think.
“Training’s good and everything’s really good. We just need to get a few wins for him now because he’s been the best he can be.
“It’s up to us to perform for him. At the minute we’re probably not doing that as well as we should be.
“It all comes down to the manager from the outside but that’s not the case, he puts an 11 out on the pitch he thinks will win the game and there’s more than enough in our squad to be winning games.”
Whalley continued: “It’s alright looking to be at the top of the table, you need to start performing on the pitch and getting the wins to get climbing.
“Performances have been quite good but it’s all about getting the win.
“We’re not going to look at the end of the season and say ‘we played well in this or that game’, we look at the games we win. That’s how it is with me anyway.”
The 31-year-old was played in a more unfamiliar position of behind the striker in Tuesday’s draw at Walsall.
“I do like to play there,” he said. “I’ll play where the manager picks me. I enjoyed playing there the other night even though it was feeding off scraps. Hopefully I can play there again.”
Askey added: “His preferred position is behind the frontman, although he’s been doing well out wide.
“Because we haven’t got the wins, we’re looking at different ways to get him on the ball more.
“It’s something we’ve had a look at and is food for thought.
“The lads are used to playing the (4-3-3) system. Obviously Lee (Angol) is going to come inside more than if Gilly (Alex Gilliead) plays out there. Shaun played in the midfield three but will get forward more than others and not back as much.
“They’re all aware of what’s expected when we have or haven’t go the ball.”
