Matthew Pennington: We need to chip in with Shrewsbury goals

Luke Leahy, Tom Bloxham and Pennington all added to their tally for the season in recent games as Town eye the goals to help clear them from the lower reaches of League One.

Cotterill’s Salop head to 13th-placed Cambridge United tomorrow in a bid to improve on a handy return of four points from two games.

And Pennington, whose bundled finish sealed last week’s win at Burton Albion with his third goal of the season from centre-half, says the manager has been encouraging players to chip in to share the load with front two Ryan Bowman and Daniel Udoh.

Pennington said: “The manager has touched on it in the last couple of weeks, that we need more goals from the rest of the team.

“We can’t just let Dan and Ryan Bowman shoulder the responsibility, so everyone knows that and they are trying to chip in.”

Front two Udoh and Bowman enjoyed a shared purple patch prior to Christmas, but goals have been more difficult to come by in recent months.

Midfielder Leahy, with seven, is Town’s next highest scorer this term while exciting teenager Bloxham made it five for the campaign with his neat strike at the Brewers.

Pennington is a constant menace for opposition from Town set-pieces and the former Everton stopper admits he should have had more goals this season from quality delivery by Leahy and Elliott Bennett.

Cotterill has demanded goals from dead balls this term, although Pennington’s effort last week showed poacher’s instinct as he turned in George Nurse’s long-range strike from a yard out.

“He (Nurse) told me he was due a goal and that he was going to try to whack one! He did that and I just poached it – you have to be there to score them,” Pennington said.

“I feel like I could’ve had a few more as well. If I keep getting myself in the right positions then hopefully some more will come.

“I do feel a responsibility when I go up because we do need to chip in with goals.

“Those are the times we’re going to chip in, from set-pieces, I’m happy to go and get my head on it.

“If I make a good run – and we get good delivery into the box from Benno and Luke – there’s every chance we can get a goal.”

“They were initially tired because they’d given everything.

“They were disappointed because they hadn’t won the game, that’s how it gets when you give everything and haven’t won.

“When it sinks in how well they played, it’s positive. When I go in and say to them how well they’ve played, that they don’t need to have their heads down, they should walk out and be proud of their performance.

“If we played like that every week we would get promoted and that’s why Rotherham will get promoted, because they play like that every week.”