Appleton ‘wary’ of time after late collapse sees Shrewsbury Town go one from bottom in League Two
Michael Appleton is “wary” of having the time to produce results consistently after a “sucker punch” defeat to Salford City.
Former Shrewsbury striker Daniel Udoh scored twice against his former employers in the 3-1 loss that dropped Appleton’s side to one from bottom in League Two.
Town conceded twice inside the final 10-minutes to suffer defeat, and failed to secure back to back wins for the first time under boss Appleton.
It has been a summer of change for Shrewsbury following their relegation, with several new additions to the side.
Asked if the group still needs time for things to pick up, Appleton said: “Yes, but you don’t always get time. I am wary of that and understanding of that.
“But, I do think that with the group, there is clearly really good signs that over a long sustained period of time, they can win games at this level, definitely.
“After the game, it was like a sucker punch. It felt like a sucker punch for the group.
“There was a real disappointment in the dressing room, not just because we lost, but because we knew that we were more than capable of winning the game.
“They probably felt just like I did, that they did more than enough to win the game as well.”
After going behind in the first-half, Shrewsbury drew themselves back level just minutes into the second period thanks to a moment of sheer brilliance from teenager Isaac England and Sam Clucas.
Town rallied from there, posing a threat to Salford’s goal, but were unable to find a second.
They were punished for defensive errors late-on, and Shrewsbury remain with the worst defensive record in the league so far, having conceded 16 in eight matches.
However, despite this, Appleton was encouraged by most of what he saw.
“I think there are lots of positives to take,” he added. “On 80 minutes, I thought we were the better team and looked more likely to score. I have to take encouragement from that.
“It is difficult to swallow and take. But, it is up to myself and the staff to try and pick the players up, and to make sure that they are ready and at it for next week. That will be our sole focus.
“If you look at the stats there was nothing in it, if anything it was favourable from our point of view.
“It is fine margins, and fine margins at this moment in time are certainly not going our way.
“That does happen when you are where we are. I am a big believer that the harder you work, the luckier you become.
“I do think that there are lucky days ahead of us. Hopefully next Saturday is the first.”
