Shrewsbury v Newport County: Michael Appleton demands midweek repeat for 'must win' basement clash
Must win games usually come around towards the back end of the season - but there is no doubting the significance of Shrewsbury Town's clash with Newport County on Saturday.
Despite their unbeaten October - Salop slipped back into the bottom two following defeat at Crewe last week.
That won't be a result that defines their season - but their clash with basement side Newport County and the importance of it can't be downplayed.
Just two points separate the sides - and a win for Michael Appleton's men on Saturday could be huge in the fight for League Two survival.
The Salop manager is under no illusions about the significance of the game, which comes after his side bowed out of the EFL Trophy following an impressive display, but ultimately a defeat against League One Northampton.
"It's disappointing to go out of it," said Appleton.
"But we've got much bigger issues and things that we need to deal with, in terms of our league position.
"The reality is that on Saturday, we've got three points to play for and that's probably the single most important thing.
"That looks like a really big game, even at this stage of the season. We're approaching the middle of November, but it is for two teams currently, 23rd and 24th, going head-to-head.
"It's a must-win and we know where we are and everyone knows where we stand with it. I think our players are more than capable of winning it."
Salop's impressive October run came to an abrupt end at Gresty Road last week - with Appleton critical of his side's display in the 3-1 loss.
Tuesday night's performance was a vast improvement - with Salop creating five or six clear opportunities in a game that on another day they would have won.
The display was a timely boost ahead of their basement clash with the Exiles - and Appleton is confident that if his side repeat their midweek performance, they will come out with three points.
He added: "Even without the chances, if we perform and compete, run as hard as what we did tonight, if we create five or six chances on Saturday, I'm still fairly confident and comfortable that we'll come out with the three points
"It's one of them where the challenge to the players, definitely on Saturday, is to repeat what we've done tonight.
"It's a different challenge because there's more pressure on it. There'll be a lot of anxiety around the game because of obviously where the two teams are positioned.
"But those are the moments that you've got to basically stand up or shy away from the situation.
"I think we've got enough quality and enough experience in the group to deal with that head-on and hopefully put a performance in similar to what we've seen tonight.
"The goals will come. I think John Marquis has had one excellent save, deny him and then he's had another chance and maybe he'll be disappointed.
"There are moments games so far this season, dare I say it, they haven't gone for us on a lot of occasions.
"I am a huge believer that the harder you work, the luckier you become.
"We worked a lot harder tonight for the whole game than we did in the second half on Saturday Our luck didn't come tonight, but hopefully if we repeat that on Saturday, we'll get a lot of luck as well."
