Appleton reveals 'gentlemen's agreements' are already in place with players set to join Shrewsbury Town

Town’s dismal season concluded on Saturday with defeat to also relegated Crawley Town. Salop’s last outing of the season will also have been the final appearance for some players in a Shrewsbury shirt with Appleton maintaining that big changes lie ahead.

Now the campaign is over and Appleton has put pen to paper - signing a two-year deal - the Town boss said the re-build for next season starts immediately with agreements with some players already in place.

“Once I left here (the club) on Friday night I was on the phone to players,” Appleton said. 

“I have set up meetings for this week and the next week and hopefully we are good to go.

“I don’t know if you can have a ‘gentlemen’s agreement' these days, but if there is such a thing as a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ then there are already a couple of them that have already happened. 

“We will see what happens in the next few weeks. 

“Trust me they will make us a million times better.”

There was uncertainty surrounding Appleton’s position before last Friday and whether he would definitely be the man to lead Shrewsbury next season. But, now it has been confirmed, he can focus on forming his own squad. 

He added: “We have already started from a recruitment point of view, putting things in place and making contact with potential signings for next year and that will continue full throttle in the next few days.

“There are a few things that we need to tidy up in the next week in terms of making sure that the season is locked off and that we know exactly what is happening. 

“Once that has happened then we can continue and make sure that when we come back for pre-season that we have as many new faces as we possibly can.

“It is going to be a busy summer, but for me it is going to be an exciting one. Getting today (Crawley match) out of the way as quickly as we could was the main thing.

“I cannot wait to get back on the phone and on the road meeting players.”

Asked if enticing players to join ahead of a League Two campaign as opposed to a League One season will be more difficult, Appleton replied: “Yes, possibly. But, I have been around quite a long time now and have worked with a lot of players. 

“Whether it is players that I have worked with in the past or players that I have worked with who have spoken about me to other players, I would like to back myself that we can get players here that we maybe wouldn’t have got at another time.”