All eyes on next season for Shrewsbury Town

Chief executive Brian Caldwell was adamant that completing the final 10 fixtures of the season would be “financial suicide” for the Montgomery Waters Meadow club, costing in the region of £500,000.

The club are now hopeful that the powers that be can begin setting plans for the 2020/21 season – whenever that is given the green light to go ahead.

Sam Ricketts has been working through this uncertain period to ensure his team are the best they can be when football returns.

And Yesterday saw him unveil his retained list.

Shrewsbury did not have an out-of-contract list as lengthy as some of their league rivals, but there were still more than half-a-dozen senior players whose futures needed to be clarified.

Midfielder Josh Laurent and defender Omar Beckles, who have made 219 appearances between them for the club, have been offered new contracts.

Ryan Barnett and goalkeepers Harry Burgoyne and Cameron Gregory also have the chance to extend their stay at the club. But there were no new deals for veteran keeper Joe Murphy and experienced midfielder Romain Vincelot.

With the retained list done, we take a look some other pressing issues.

Positions Town need to strengthen

Ricketts has said that financial uncertainty from COVID-19 has made planning for the transfer window difficult, but Caldwell said this week that targets have been drawn up.

The Shrews boss will be aware of the positions he needs more options in.

He will be targetting a new first-choice goalkeeper, either on a loan deal or permanently, while Scott Golbourne is the only natural left-back option.

With the potential of Laurent and Vincelot and departing, central midfield is an area to assess, while Ricketts may look for more wide options to balance Shaun Whalley’s role.

With only Jason Cummings and Daniel Udoh under contract up front, two strikers are likely to be on the shopping list.

Pre-season plans

Town have spent the last three pre-seasons on a warm-weather training camp, most recently in the south of Portugal, but such a trip is almost certain not to take place this year.

Ricketts has been using the time away from the action to devise plans for pre-season, whether players re-convene for training in August, September or even later in the year.

The Town chief will have spoken with contacts further up the pyramid regarding how new-look socially-distant training has unfolded and picked up tips he can use at Sundorne Castle.

Salop players will likely have to become used to training at a safe distance from colleagues before full contact training will be permitted to lower league clubs. Testing remains an issue, affordable testing will surely be required before full training can be considered.

Pre-season friendly options will be drawn up when clubs have more information on start dates for next season.

Rehab goes on

Ollie Norburn will be as important as any member of Ricketts’ squad when action for the 2020/21 season gets under way.

The Salop skipper’s 2019/20 struggled to get off the ground, after injury delayed its beginning and then cruelly curtailed his progress shortly into the FA Cup tie against Liverpool, of all occasion.

Town’s worst fears were confirmed when scan results showed a serious knee injury for the midfielder, who was linked with a move away from the Meadow in January after signing a new deal last year.

Norburn, 27, was ruled out for the remainder of the season, which was then halted in March. He has been undergoing as much personal rehab as possible and via video calls.

Ricketts revealed recently his comeback is going as well as can be expected in the circumstances, and it is likely Norburn will be fit and firing whenever a pre-season start date is inked.

Though the Shrews boss and his staff will know that, given they could have been away from a training environment for the best part of half a year, progress will need to be slow to ensure players are not constantly breaking down with muscle and joint injuries.