Shrewsbury v Port Vale preview: Salop fired up and ready to go following ‘hard reset’

It has not been an easy start to the season for Salop and even though their league position is not disastrous – 16th and four points clear of the drop zone – it has been tough watching at times.

Salop have had an issue in front of goal all season, they have only managed to score 10 goals in their 18 League One games and they have not been able to find a remedy for that.

Their away form has been poor, and that has seen them lose seven out of the nine games they have played on the road.

They have shown in moments they can score goals, against league Two Colchester and Walsall in cup competitions they managed to sore three times and they did come from two goals down against Reading to win 3-2.

The pressure is beginning to ramp up on head coach Matt Taylor and so his side need to produce some performances and results.

The game against Port Vale is their first chance to do it, it is a local rivalry so the away side will be sure to bring a packed out away end.

And Town’s home form has been one of their season so far. They have got it right at the Croud Meadow and they sit eighth in the form table.

Speaking ahead of the game Taylor re-enforced his disappointment with the result and performance away to Blackpool last weekend and said this week has been used as a ‘hard reset’ for his players.

He said: “I was devastated more than disappointed, as were the players.

“It’s difficult after games because emotion tends to overrule the conversation. What we did this week was remove the emotion.

“Have we had difficult conversations with players? Yes we have, because those standards are not acceptable from this group of players. The errors that we made got punished.

“We have to use it as a hard reset, it must be used as that because there is no point ignoring what happened. We must meet it head-on, make sure the players are as prepared as they can be for what will be another tough game at home.

“Our home form, especially in the last four games, has been really good. What we need to stop doing is conceding silly goals – that’s what’s really hurting us at the moment.

“At home we get away with it because we score more goals than the opposition but take that aside, as a group including myself, the staff and all the players, we’ve got to do the basics well.

“We are a team that can keep clean sheets in this league and it’s imperative we do our upmost to do that on Saturday against a very good Port Vale team.”

Town have another three-game week coming up after the game against Vale, first they make the trip to Exeter before heading to Notts County in the FA Cup.