Dave Edwards: Great to see Shrewsbury finally put someone to the sword

After the four defeats and a tough festive period in games where Shrewsbury could have quite easily picked up more points, it was just nice they put that to one side with a convincing win against Burton.

The hosts were never really in the game. An early lead obviously helped, but they have been consistent with their performances and have just fallen on the wrong side of results, so it will be a big relief for the manager and the players.

They have got something good going at the club at the moment, you can sense a team spirit, and a connection between the players and the fans.

When you get a performance like this it just adds to it and it was a great sight to see that away end packed out and Salop scoring goals in front of them.

I think everything is really positive off the pitch, the squad is getting better and better, performances have been improving and players are coming back from injury.

It is nice they have the result now which matches that.

I have spoken on a couple of occasions about my time at Shrewsbury before Steve Cotterill came – the dressing room was not great in terms of relationships and team spirit.

Cotterill recognised that early on, and he has made a real conscious effort to recruit the type of individual he brings into the football club.

Matthew Pennington, who made his 100th appearance at the weekend, absolutely sums that up.

He had a bit of a tough start with a shoulder injury and a few challenging games at right-back, but everyone knew how good he was going to be, and I think he is a Championship defender.

For it to be his first club after moving from Everton, I think he has taken to it so well, he moved to the area, and he is such a humble guy.

Another impressive performer for Salop is Christian Saydee. He had a false dawn with those couple of goals early into his time at the club – we thought he was going to be the answer to the goal-scoring problems we have had – but he offers a lot more than that.

He has good hold-up play, he links up well with Rob Street, it had just been the goals that had been missing so it is great for him to get a couple. The manager is quick to praise Rob Street as well which is clever, making sure Street knows how appreciated he is and how he played an important part in the performance.

If Saydee can continue this until the end of the season then this will make a big difference for Town.

It is nice to see Shrewsbury being able to rotate the team a bit more, Tom Bayliss having a little bit of a break, and Phillips has that running power breaking into the box – it disrupts the opposition when you have a midfielder who can do that.

It is a real shame about Aiden O’Brien. He was a signing that everyone was really excited about. He has Championship quality but it is a shame we have not been able to see him on a more consistent basis especially as he has struggled with injuries.

The sooner the situation can now be sorted out, the better.

But what it will do is free up a little bit of budget for a possible player to come in and that is always a good thing.