Dave Edwards: Shrewsbury showed some fight despite loss to Barnsley

After the manner of the defeats against Peterborough and Charlton, where they were outclassed really, it was a daunting task then to go to Oakwell against a Barnsley side that are flying high and trying to get automatic promotion themselves.

But Town bounced back well considering the situation with the injuries – they showed a lot of fight and a lot of desire.

It was decent effort and there will probably be some disappointment in there they did not pick up a point on the road.

And the manner in which the goals were conceded, and the timing of them just before half-time, makes a huge difference and changes the mentality of how you have to play.

But they will be happy to show some fighting spirit as when you look at the Charlton game and the Posh game, they maybe lacked a bit of that.

They have been in games all season, and if they have lost, it has always been just by the one goal, so it is out of character to lose those the way they did.

Salop have been a little bit streaky in their runs this season, whether they go on consecutive winning runs or they have lost a few games on the trot. If you average it all out, in context, it is a terrific season.

They are still in a decent place in the table, and you have to take the positives from that.

There are still some really tough games left to come, and with the injuries building up and the size of the squad the manager has to choose from at the moment, it is going to be a daunting task to finish the season strongly.

At least they showed some strength and character on Monday.

The away fixtures have been unrelenting, and when you add in the travelling, the back-to-back games and the one home game they had called off, it does feel like everything has conspired against them.

It is the hand you are dealt with, and at the end of the season, it will balance itself out, and it just seems a bit unfair at the moment with injuries, it all seems to be coming at once.

They have just got to battle through it – the final leg of the season, it is all hands on deck – and really go for it.

As a team, and individually, players are playing for their futures with contracts yet to be sorted.

There are lots of loan players and they need to finish the season strongly to put themselves in the best position come the summer whether they are at Shrewsbury or they are moving on elsewhere.

You want to be going into those contract talks in good form, so a lot of responsibility has to fall on to the players to make sure they are fully committed for this final run-in of the season.

Killian Phillips is a player you look at and think he could play in the Premier League one day. The only sad thing is that Shrewsbury have not had him for a whole season.

I think he would have made a big difference over a 46-game season, his ability and desire.

It was a terrific goal he scored in South Yorkshire as well – at times we have missed a midfielder who can arrive into the box, and that was a perfect example of him doing it. With his athleticism, it is so difficult for someone to stay with him.