Striker Nick Chadwick looks set to get a first chance to stake his claim for a Shrewsbury Town start tomorrow – after a weekend of frustration for Paul Simpson’s men.

New arrival Chadwick was expected to be in the squad for Saturday’s visit of Chester, only for the local derby to be frozen off after temperatures plunged to minus six – lower than forecast – on Friday night.

But Chadwick is now expected to make his first appearance in blue and amber in tomorrow afternoon’s reserve team trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

“It will be a strong team going up there and Nick will be involved,” manager Paul Simpson said today.

“There are quite a few first-teamers who need games, the likes of Ben Herd, Mike Jackson, Neil Ashton, Michael Symes, Marc Pugh and Dave Hibbert so they will all play as well.”

Former Everton youngster and Plymouth ace Chadwick will be hoping to make an immediate impact with leading scorer Grant Holt’s two-game suspension yet to begin because of Saturday’s postponement.

Simpson has confirmed he is hoping the Chester game – the first to ever be postponed at the Prostar Stadium – will be rescheduled in the near future.

“It was a bit disappointing that the game was off but there is no point getting screwed up about it,” he added.

“The groundstaff did everything they could, extra covers and hot air blowers were brought in and when we left on Friday, the pitch was playable. The temperatures just went down a lot lower than was forecast on Friday night and that’s one of those things.

“We want to play the game as soon as possible because you don’t know if you’re going to lose any games later in the season, but it depends on what Chester and the Football League say as well.”

Simpson continues to search for reinforcements during the January transfer window. Reports in Manchester claim Shrewsbury have tabled a bid for Macclesfied’s 26-year-old midfielder Terry Dunfield.

By JAMES GARRISON