Comment: Lull finally over but Shrewsbury's rest will have been beneficial

There are no more distractions for Paul Hurst’s men. No more games to rest player X or Y, to give player A or B a shot at earning their place.

The moment the referee blows the whistle to signal the end of today’s clash with MK Dons, everyone’s full attention is on the tantalising prospect of the play-offs

It has been an indifferent period for Town on and off the pitch. The results haven’t been bad, far from it, but there was a sense both in the air and with player and staff interviews that everyone was raring for the play-offs to start.

They didn’t over-step the mark, there was no lack of professionalism, they still treated fixtures against Bury, Peterborough and Blackpool as properly as possible. With a view to offering breathers, tweaking systems, but wanting to win.

Hurst – ahead of his media hiatus which spread across missing four interviews before it ended on Thursday – and his staff drilled home that form and momentum is not the key.

They were after performances, signs that the selected players were ready to do battle over the next couple of weeks in what could be the most emotionally-demanding games of their careers – certainly with a place in the Championship at stake.

Town aren’t heading into play-offs on the back of the best run of results. One of their possible opponents this week, Scunthorpe, have won four on the spin going into their final game today.

But, should everything go to plan today and no players pull up with muscle tweaks or needless red cards, Hurst must be largely pleased with where his squad are.

Alex Rodman spoke this week about how the staff have ramped up training in the last week heading into the crunch play-off period.

Hurst and his staff will have been strategically planning training sessions for Thursday night’s first leg and Sunday’s reverse tie.

Travelling to Scunthorpe, Charlton or Plymouth, although the latter looks unlikely, on Thursday will mean it leaves Town Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to get the full low-down on their opponents and be in the best place tactically.

But physically – an area so important to this Shrewsbury team at its best – they should be in a good place.

While it has been an odd period in terms of matches meaning little, Hurst and his staff opted to wrap certain individuals in cotton wool.

Jon Nolan had played 50 games this season before his rest against Bury and Peterborough. Shaun Whalley had played 53, Toto Nsiala 54 and Ben Godfrey 47. That crucial quartet alone have often been such a driving force this season. They can be difference-makers.

For them, and others, to be offered a rejuvenation period after such a long, taxing slog – both physically and mentally – could be crucial. It could be the difference over two play-off legs.

Town’s semi-final rivals have been going at it hammer and tongs right up until the death. They haven’t had the luxury of a break period. While the players only missed one or two games, the training was tempered precisely to their needs.

Now, with most of them expected back on the pitch for a run-out today against already-relegated Dons, they should be as close to peak condition as they were earlier in the season.

And that was where Town were at their most lethal. They smothered teams. If the damage wasn’t already done before the hour, they out-lasted any rivals and made the difference late on.

If they can rediscover that kind of energy then it could be the margin needed for success.