Shrewsbury Town debrief: Are Salop’s survival chances over?
The clash against Bristol Rovers was a match that Shrewsbury Town simply had to win.
Even victory would not have guaranteed their League One survival this term, but it would have reduced the gap to 20th place to five points.
With 11 third-tier games remaining this season, even if they had closed it, it would have still felt like a stretch to stay up, but with the 0-0 draw the gap to Rovers remains at eight points. Even the most optimistic Salop fan would admit they are on the brink.
Shrewsbury find themselves in this position not because of the events that unfolded at the Croud Meadow on Tuesday night, but because of what has happened over the last seven months, and the league table does not lie - they have not been good enough.
There has been immeasurable improvement under Gareth Ainsworth since he arrived at the end of November. But as it has so often been written in these pages, the damage was done well before that. Despite a comeback and an upturn, the head coach was given too hard of a job.
It was rather ironic, that on Pancake Day, Town and Bristol Rovers dished up a flat game at the bottom of League One.
It is quite likely this fixture could be a League Two clash next season. Burton Albion are hunting down the Gas, and from their performance on Tuesday, Inigo Calderon’s side looked very poor.
