Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill demanding full commitment to the cause
Steve Cotterill says he will never be angry or disappointed with his Shrewsbury Town players so long as they are fully committed to the cause.
Almost two weeks ago, Salop put in a battling effort against Championship side Sunderland in the FA Cup, they defended bravely and by the end of the 90 minutes, the players were out on their feet.
They were unfortunate the Black Cats scored twice in stoppage time, once in the 92nd minute, and again in the 94th minute to knock Salop out of the cup.
But a week later, they backed that performance up at Burton Albion, thrashing their hosts 4-0 after another good display, even though the game was a different type of contest.
In press conferences, the Town boss uses the phrase ‘all in’ to describe what he demands from his players in a game.
And he says if they do that, then he will never be ‘angry’ or ‘disappointed’ with them.
“The players know with me I won’t be angry or disappointed if they are all in,” the experienced boss said.
“When they were all in against Sunderland, for 92 minutes they were brilliant.”
His side had a challenging Christmas period, with some difficult results, but the players tried hard over that period, the results were certainly not down to lack of effort.
And they were unlucky with some poor refereeing decisions that went against them.
And Cotterill says it is so important the team focuses on what they can control – which is making sure they prepare for games in the right way.
He says if they do that, eventually, fine margins in games will fall their way.
“With those fine margins, you have to keep preparing and keep doing the right thing,” he continued.
“Because, in the end, those minor details will fall for you.
“It is only when you take your eye off it, don’t continually do the right things and be determined to get the right results.”
The boss is right, with last Saturday’s thrilling victory on the road being a perfect example of that.
And now they will be seeking to get a positive result today when they welcome Cambridge United to the Meadow, a side they did not deserve to lose to on Boxing Day, with the game ending 2-1 thanks to a comeback from the U’s.
