Richard O’Donnell: Professionalism a big reason for new Shrewsbury arrival
Tom Anderson’s professionalism on and off the pitch is a big reason why Shrewsbury Town signed him, says assistant head coach Richard O’Donnell.
The 31-year-old joined Salop just over a week ago securing a two-year contract in Shropshire after snubbing an offer of a new deal from his previous club Doncaster Rovers.
The veteran defender has been the first signing of the summer for Michael Appleton and his assistant O’Donnell as they rebuild the squad.
The veteran defender is a coup for Shrewsbury, and O’Donnell has described why they wanted to add him to their ranks.
“Tom has been a player we have been aware of for numerous years,” he said. “He started at Burnley.
“We came up against him a couple of times when he was at Doncaster and we were at Lincoln. He was a solid defender.
“And it is the same as with everything you utilise your contacts. You ask questions, and we had nothing but positive responses regarding Tom.
“About him being a leader. How professional he is both on and off the pitch. That is the kind of character we really want to bring into the football club, and we really feel that he will fit into the way we want to play.
“Hopefully, having one done early, gives you a bit of momentum for our next one and then you can start to see things taking shape.
“It gives you that little bit of excitement moving forward that come the first day of pre-season, we have got our first step forward.”
Shrews have 14 senior players in their squad after Roland Idowu joined St Mirren on a permanent basis last week - he had spent last season on loan in the Scottish Premier League.
And O’Donnell says plenty of work is going into getting the next addition over the line.
“We are getting closer,” O’Donnell said. “We are speaking to players and agents as you do, but so will every other football club in the EFL. It is such a busy time, phones are constantly ringing, and messages are being sent.
“It is an exciting time. We want to be able to build, and we know as the saying goes Rome was not built in a day.
“We will be striving and moving forward and taking those steps in the right direction.”
