Shropshire Star

Boss Jackson backs Shrewsbury squad to hit back after relegation heartbreak

Boss Mike Jackson believes there is a strong enough core of players at Shrewsbury Town to build a promotion-winning side next season.

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Jackson, who took the managerial reins for the last four months of the season after the departure of Graham Turner, had spoken of the need for 'major surgery' to rebuild the playing squad following relegation to League Two.

It remains to be seen whether Jackson, whose deal as manager ran until the end of the season, will be given the chance to guide the team back from that setback after he was unable to halt the slide in his 19 games in charge.

He remains adamant that plenty of new faces will be needed to strengthen a team which had been over-reliant on loan players this season if it is to mount a push for an immediate return to League One.

But asked if there was a strong enough core of players at the club to build a promotion-winning side around, he said: "I think there's some players in there with the potential to do that, with the right people in and around them. It is possible, of course it is.

"But it is about building a team now. You can't build a team with 40 players, you can't build a team with 20 loans. But you can build a team of your own players that will stick together.

"There's a spine there that you could build around."

Meanwhile, Town defender Alex McQuade has confirmed he has not been released by the club after a tweet sparked speculation to the contrary yesterday.

The former Bolton man, who joined Town last year but is out of contract this summer, tweeted: "Shrewsbury, it's been a pleasure", leading to speculation he had been released.

But McQuade told the Shropshire Star this was not the case. He said: "That was a tweet saying I am moving back to Manchester."

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