Goalkeeper Chris Neal has vowed to continue making the most of his chance after producing his best performance in a Shrewsbury shirt.

The 24-year-old walked away with the man of the match champagne after making some fine saves in the closing stages of Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Rotherham at the Greenhous Meadow.

Neal began the season playing second fiddle to Ben Smith.

But an injury to Smith has seen Neal – who had his own fitness problems last season – start the last five games.

And he is taking full advantage with a run of three clean sheets in a row.

“I’ve got things to prove to the fans here having not played last season,” said Neal. “The more games I play, the more confident I will become and hopefully I can show my true potential to everybody.

“I moved here last year from Preston looking to start my career.

“I played games at the beginning of the season but then got unlucky with a couple of injuries. But this summer I was really professional and worked hard.

“The goalkeeping coach (Paul Gerrard) has come in and worked us really hard and got us fitter and sharper.”

Neal, who revealed he had taken inspiration from the England heroics of former Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper Joe Hart on Friday night, admitted he was delighted to see Shrewsbury go top of the table.

“It feels unbelievable,” he said. “We knew Saturday was going to be tough. We created chances in the first half and were unlucky not to score a couple more.

“Second half, Rotherham put us under pressure and I had to make my saves.

“But the defensive line in front of me was fantastic.

“Sometimes, you just need to grind out a result. It’s three points and nobody will remember the performance here.”

Town boss Graham Turner has been nominated for the League Two manger of the month award for August.

Shrewsbury, meanwhile, have been drawn away to Bury in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, a game which will take place in the week commencing October 4.

By JAMES GARRISON