Shrewsbury's Chey Dunkley doing his bit to boost strikers’ confidence

Christian Saydee and Rob Street are very talented young players but they are inexperienced, and the well-seasoned Dunkley is hoping to keep reminding them they are good players even if they do not score.

Saydee has got five goals in his last seven League One starts, but Street has found goals harder to come by despite putting in a tremendous shift for the team.

And 30-year-old Dunkley knows that playing as a forward is all about confidence, and he wants them to ‘believe in their craft’.

He said: “It is good for Christian to get a goal or two.

“We just hope the young players can get goals and get their confidence up. Like Streety, he works ever so hard, but he did not get the goal.

“Christian and Streety are building a great partnership together so you know.

“I would not say I tell him how to hit the back of the net, because he knows what to do in that respect, but all I can do as a senior player is make sure he keeps is confidence high.

“If he does go a few games when he hasn’t scored, just believe in his craft. Sometimes that happens with strikers and it is just for us to keep his confidence up.

“He plays in a position that is confidence driven, and two goals is only going to do him the world of good.

“I want all our attacking players to score and I will be buzzing if Streety can get a goal because I know he works so hard in training and he does all the dirty stuff. If he can get a goal.”

Meanwhile, the Wolverhampton-born defender is also doing his coaching badges, with fellow Salop team-mate Matthew Pennington.

The former Sheffield Wednesday man also has a degree and he says it is important to look to life beyond football, but says coaching is increasing his knowledge of the game.

He said: “I think it helps my knowledge as well.

“It is always good to do your badges while you are playing because it can increase your knowledge and you see the game differently.

“But also, it is a pathway, I have played football since I was young and I have always been in football.

“So after having a playing career I cannot see myself being out of football, whether it is coaching or whether it is sports science.

“I have a degree, and I do a lot of things just to keep doors open because you never know what is around the corner.

“And it helps you after football as well, it is something I have enjoyed so far working with the academy.

“And it is a nice one because it folds in well with what I am doing now, which is playing.”