Shrewsbury v Sheffield Wednesday preview: Town have their eyes on a strong finish to the season
Shrewsbury Town have three League One games left to cement their place in the top half of the table.
The first of which sees them welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Montgomery Waters Meadow this weekend.
It is the penultimate home game of the season for Shrews – Bristol Rovers travel to Shropshire just a few days later.
Town have struggled for results of late, taking one point out of the last 21 available, but that does not explain the circumstances as their squad has been completely ravaged by injuries.
Luke Leahy scooped up four awards at the end-of-season presentation night on Tuesday – collecting the supporters’ player of the season for the second year running.
All the players who went up on the stage on Tuesday were keen to point out they have three massive games left and they want to finish the season on a high.
They were boosted last weekend by the return of Matthew Pennington, he had been missing but was back in the team for the clash at the University of Bolton Stadium.
Christian Saydee had been absent with a knee problem, but he was fit enough to play the last 20 minutes of the game.
And the Town boss said he thought the loanee was toughing it out for the team last week.
He said: “It was nice to see him get out on to the pitch (at Bolton). He wouldn’t have been able to do that 10 days, two weeks before.
“But I don’t know whether he is quite back to full fitness.
“It is one of those injuries, it’s not like a muscle – when a muscle repairs you are OK to go again after you build up.
“But a fat pad is a really awkward one because it’s only when his leg gets into a hyper-extension which it does when he plants it when he shoots.
“I don’t know whether that is right. But I think last week he just saw how short we were and put himself up which is a credit to him really.
“But I don’t think he’s quite back to where he wants to be or needs to be. I just think he is toughing it out.
“We have to be careful. We can say to him go out there and strike 10 balls and he might be alright with nine of them.
“But then on the 10th he goes and injures himself and then you turn around and say ‘why did we get him to do that?’
“If you think about how many shots he would get off in a game – two to three maybe – but then there are a couple of long passes you’ve got to add on top of that.
“You can keep aggravating a fat pad. It will settle down. There is nothing majorly wrong with him. But I think it can sometimes take that sharpness away. We will wait and see.”
Tom Flanagan missed the games against Bolton and Plymouth through suspension but he has been battling an ankle injury and Cotterill says he is touch and go as well.
He said: “He is another one, we have to wait as long as we can. We do the best preparation we can with what we have got.
“But until you can name that team, which has been really, really, difficult over the past few weeks – you can’t quite get the work in that you would like to get in.
“I think what we need to do is wait and see what we have got – 24 hours is a long time at the moment for a few of them.”
