Matt Williams: We're backing Micky Mellon on budget
Shrewsbury Town have revealed their commitment to boss Micky Mellon by backing him with the ninth highest budget in League One.
Town are battling to re-establish themselves in the third tier and fans have expressed their frustration at the club's struggles on the pitch.
Burton Albion and Southend – two clubs promoted with them last season – are faring much better.
But chief executive Matt Williams says spending on players' wages shows Mellon has been handed a bigger budget than most of his counterparts.
"Our current wage budget is the ninth highest in the division which illustrates the board's commitment to supporting the manager," said Williams, addressing Supporters Parliament questions online. "The club are currently spending more on the football side of the business than ever before.
"But those with smaller budgets have been in the league considerably longer and have a squad suited to the league.
"We acknowledge Southend and Burton particularly have adapted to life in League One better than us. Both clubs have assembled their squad over a period of time while adding two or three players to make it better."
Williams defended Mellon's transfer dealings. "We cannot recruit players based on hindsight; every time a player is signed we believe he'll make a positive difference," he said.
"In Micky's first summer, he had to recruit 17 players and we were promoted with the fourth-highest budget in League Two.
"Then the manager completely rebuilt the squad and assembled a group we all thought would compete as well in League One.
"While losing Ryan Woods and Connor Goldson was a blow, the monies generated enabled the club to remain debt-free and to support the manager.
"The injury to James Wesolowski was also another huge loss and if you take three key players out of any team, form and performances will suffer."
Williams also revealed that next season's third
