'The angriest I have been': Inside the Michael Appleton half time rant that helped kickstart Shrewsbury Town's recent run
Michael Appleton has had plenty to be disgruntled about since he arrived at Shrewsbury Town late last season.
But it was at half time of the 2-1 defeat at MK Dons back in late September when the Salop manager was, as he admits, at his angriest moment.
Two down at the break following a poor first half performance, Appleton let rip at the Salop players and admitted after the game that he had torn into his players.
They went on to lose the game - but fast forward more than a month and his angry rant seems to have had the desired impact.
Appleton admits the biggest difference in his side has been their shift in mentality since that MK Dons clash - and has revealed that what was said not just by him but by his players will continue to aid them throughout the season.
The Salop boss explained: "I think there has definitely been a mentality shift since the MK Dons game, I was definitely really upset at half time against MK.
"It is probably the angriest I have been since I've been here for various reasons.
"I think we got a reaction in the second half since then, probably other than maybe half a game against Oldham, we've been pretty good.
"We just need to continue that mentality, defend with a resilience and try and be clinical in what we do with the ball.
"I had my say. I could not repeat it, if I'm being honest. And yet, I gave them the opportunity to have their say between themselves and me not present, because sometimes that's quite good.
"I haven't had to do it too many times in my career to be honest with you, but I gave them the opportunity to thrash a few things out and they did it and they came up with certain messages that I think will help them throughout the season."
Saturday throws up another test against a Crewe side that sit ninth in the table, having been riding high earlier in the campaign after winning their first four league games.
Appleton insists his side need to be wary of the attacking threat posed by the Railwaymen and in particular their on loan Stoke City forward Emre Tezgel, who bagged a hat-trick in their recent league win over Grimsby Town.
And he also name checked another dangerous Crewe attacker who will be familiar to Shrewsbury fans from a recent loan spell at the Croud Meadow.
"He's a very, very good player. Someone we're aware of and I expect him to play, so we're going to have to be on our game to keep him out.
"But not only that, obviously they've got a lot of good attack-minded players. Everyone will know Tommi O'Reilly. Obviously, he left before I got here, but he's someone I'm aware of because I've got a lot of contacts at Villa, people I used to work with.
"So, I know how highly they think of him and how well he's done this season for Crewe, so, they're very, very dangerous, but not just those two.
"They've got a group who can score goals and they're in a very healthy position in the league. They got off to a good start, had a bit of a blip, but obviously seemed to come through that."
