Will Boyle: Shrewsbury motivated to put last season behind them

Salop have made a positive start to their bid to bounce back straight away having made five signings already this summer. 

And boss Michael Appleton said last week they are close to making their sixth.

One of those new players is former Huddersfield and Cheltenham defender Will Boyle. He signed a two-year deal after agreeing to terminate his contract early with Town’s cross-border rivals Wrexham. 

And Boyle says that since he has arrived in Shropshire, he has enjoyed the start to their pre-season training. 

“I have loved it,” he said, reflecting on his first few weeks as a Salop player. “I felt it immediately before signing. The feel of the club. A lot of people were hurting from last year, and a lot of good people want to put stuff right. So it is good to be a part of. 

“I feel I have been welcomed straight away by the lads. There are a few new players obviously, and everyone is getting on straight away, so it is good crack. It is good to be back in the mix.”

Shrews have now completed two of their six pre-season clashes, and both have been played in extreme heat as the warm weather sweeps across the UK. 

And Boyle says no matter how hard Appleton puts them through their paces in training, it is no match for the intensity of a game.  

“You can do as much running as you want, but it does feel different when you are in a game because you have the physiological element that comes into it,” he continued. “The intensity of it all is up a level, so there were a few blowing - me being one of those.

“When the temperatures are tropical like they have been at the moment, it adds to it, so it is very different, but with the amount of sports science that there is now, we are looked after well. 

“It is only a few weeks obviously, but I just need to keep my head down and keep getting through, and ticking the boxes as I get back up to fitness and match sharpness.”