Shrewsbury Town: Preparation for League Two begins with first on-field action
Shrewsbury Town play their first pre-season friendly today as their preparations for the League Two season ramp up.
Michael Appleton’s men make the short trip to Stoke City’s Clayton Wood training ground, where the two sides will play in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
For Shrewsbury, it is the first outing since they were relegated at the end of their disappointing League One campaign last season, and they will be hoping to build momentum ahead of that first fourth-tier match against Bromley on the opening day of the EFL season.
The Town players have been working hard in the heat at their Sundorne Castle training base as they build a base level of fitness for the coming season.
The first match is normally so each player can get 45 minutes under their belt, so Shrewsbury’s youngsters will be sure to get minutes at Clayton Wood as well as the senior members of the squad.
It presents a good opportunity for them to not only impress their head coach and his staff, but also their team-mates.
For Salop, five players have arrived in Shropshire over the course of the summer. Tom Anderson and Sam Clucas were the first two to sign during the rebuild.
After a quiet period, three more players swiftly followed. Sam Stubbs, Will Boyle and Tom Sang, all are likely to make their first appearances in blue and amber this afternoon.
As experienced players, they will know that pre-season is merely an exercise in fitness and getting up to speed, but at the same time, they will get to wear their new colours for the first time.
Salop have five more games after this one. They make the journey to Leamington this weekend for the first clash that can be seen by supporters. They play local rivals AFC Telford United next midweek before welcoming Kidderminster to the Croud Meadow on Saturday, July 19. They then play Bolton and Burnley on home turf to round off their pre-season antics before the return of competition action.
The players have already been put through their paces in very warm weather conditions, with the UK experiencing a dry and warm summer so far.
That is only expected to get worse this weekend with searing temperatures of more than 30 degrees predicted in some parts of the UK.
There is still work to do in the transfer window. There is no doubt that Salop’s squad looks relatively healthy at the moment with the positive additions they have made.
Appleton alluded to the fact there could be a few outgoings before the season ends, and there are certain positions that do need addressing.
One of those is in goal. They currently only have one keeper in the squad, that is Toby Savin, and they will want to have that sorted long before the start of any competitive football.
Players who may have struggled last year in the third tier have a chance this time to put their best foot forward and stake a claim for the season opener against Bromley.
