Dave Edwards: The break may be just what Shrewsbury have needed

Although it will mean having the Oxford game rescheduled in midweek and creating a busy fixture list, the amount of games Shrewsbury have had to play since the start of the season is crazy.

The manager will welcome a little bit of a break, more time for the lads to rest up and those with small knocks to get themselves right.

It also allows more time for players like Aiden O’Brien and Elliott Bennett to get back to full fitness.

I do think it’s a positive and they can go into tonight’s Exeter game fresh and full of confidence following the win over Forest Green.

The games coming up next, against Port Vale, Burton and Cheltenham, are very winnable games for Town. They can stamp their authority on them and start to move up the league, which I fully expect them to do with the form they’re in at the moment.

Steve Cotterill will be quietly happy that he’s had a free weekend.

The Exeter game will not be easy and although they’ve also had a rest, it’s a long journey to come up on a Tuesday night.

If Shrewsbury can bring intensity to that game from the start, and really get the crowd behind them, that could be too much for Exeter when you take the travel into consideration.

There’s no reason why Shrewsbury shouldn’t go into this game thinking they should win. Starting fast and getting the fans behind them is key and I think they’ll then be too good for this Exeter team. With the confidence from the Forest Green win, and the few days off they’ve had, I think Shrewsbury should be flying out of the blocks tonight.

Meanwhile, when the two new lads from Bournemouth and Crystal Palace came in I did wonder how it would affect Tom Bloxham and Charlie Caton’s development – it’s a really interesting one.

It’s up to Tom and Charlie to prove that they should be in the squad and following Dan Udoh’s injury the manager had to bring in more depth up front, so you can understand why he’s done it.

It was interesting to see the manager’s comments saying he wouldn’t see the benefit of sending them on loan to non-league clubs – and I think as long as they’re in and around the team, that’s a fair comment.

At the highest level people were screaming for Phil Foden to go out on loan when he was a bit-part player at Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola said it was better for him to stay, learn how they play and train with better players every day – and you can see how that worked for him.

As long as Tom and Charlie are in and around the team then I can see the logic in it. At this moment in time the manager has got that one spot on.

It’s now up to them to show the manager that they are the best options on the bench.

It’s a lot better as a player if you’re trying to fight to go out on loan and the manager doesn’t want you to go. It shows that he wants you to stay.

They have to take confidence from that. It’s a big year for both of them.

They’re both so young and need to make sure they’re improving every day in training.

They’re terrific talents who need to impress the manager for that next opportunity on the field. I hope it comes for them too as they have something to offer.