Shrewsbury Town boss Sam Ricketts: Dave Edwards in pre-season mode

Edwards, 33, made his much-anticipated return to Town in January after more than a decade away from his boyhood club.

But he has not had the best of starts, having arrived from Reading after a lengthy lay-off with a knee injury.

The Welshman has made five appearances and not scored, as well as being sent off.

And Ricketts, who played with him at Wolves, said: “It’s been a stop-start return. He came back and hadn’t been playing much so I had to step him up, and then he had a niggle.

“He came back from that and ended up getting sent off! That put him back, so he’s easing his way back in. We’re asking him to hit the ground running, but he’s in pre-season mode really.

“That’s where he’s at, and we have to manage that situation as we know what qualities he’s got.

“At the same time, it’s not a league where you can stroll through.

“You have to be at it every week, so we’re just managing that to get him up to speed as quick as we can.”

Meanwhile, Ricketts is hoping Salop can now be the ones to dish out crucial late goals rather than conceding them.

Town had developed a knack for letting in goals at the death, but struck late on to beat Wycombe last weekend.

Ricketts added: “That is really important for me, to push on and try to win the game late on. Hopefully that’ll bring us confidence, knowing it is possible for us.

“It’s happened against us a few times and generally it’s been where we’ve been winning and conceding an equaliser – Wolves, Peterborough, Bradford off the top of my head, costing us the game.

“It’s a far better trait to have (going for the win), and you have to make it happen.”

He added: “I’d always rather be three or four up by half-time, but if you’re going to win a game, doing it with the last kick isn’t bad either.”