Shrewsbury Town midfielder Kevin McIntyre admits the club’s free weekend will leave the squad fresh for a winter assault on the league summit.

Town’s early exit from the FA Cup left them without a fixture today and McIntyre said the rest will do the players good.

He said: “It would have been nice to have another league game after the performance on Tuesday but it would have been FA Cup day anyway and the break will be useful.

“Hopefully we’ll come back stronger and ready for the busy Christmas period.

“We’re in a good position but we want to come back in December and really push on.”

And McIntyre, who joined Town from Macclesfield in the summer of 2008, admits the current Shrewsbury vintage is the best he has played with.

“The players the manager has brought in are all quality players,” he said.

“We have got players with pace who can cause teams problems and hopefully this can be the year that we do go up.

“I think there’s only Steve Leslie that’s been here longer than me now but I’ve always said that I love it here. It’s a great club.”

Meanwhile, McIntyre admitted the arrival of Manchester City’s Adam Tutte, who plays in his position, would provide great competition for places.

“It will keep us on our toes,” the 32-year-old said of the former England youth international’s arrival.

“It is important to have healthy competition and we have a lot of games to play in December so it is important we have cover for any knocks.”