Fleetwood v Shrewsbury: Michael Appleton fires 'back up' warning and hails 'quality' Sam Clucas
You're only as good as your last game is one of those old football clichés - and it is a pretty apt one for Shrewsbury Town as they head north to Fleetwood on Saturday.
A recent turnaround in form has saw Michael Appleton's side emerge from their early season slump to go on a five match unbeaten run.
A defeat against Crewe somewhat dented their resurgence - but a return to winning ways against Newport County last week in a basement battle against the Exiles lifted Salop back out of the League Two drop zone.
And it means they have lost just once in six league outings - and twice in eight games in all competitions.
Relief was the main emotion after their victory at the Croud Meadow last week. But now as they had to mid-table Fleetwood on Saturday - that narrow victory over the Exiles is a thing of the past.
"We have got to back it up," insists Appleton.
"It’s alright me saying it is a big step forward but then we lose the next two games.
"We just need to back up the performances and the results that we have shown.
"We have had quite a big period now, I know it has only been six league games, but to only lose the one game and have three wins at home in there, compared to where we were, it is huge.
"We need to keep our momentum and keep doing that."
Appleton has made various changes to his Salop side since that early season run of form - in a bid to turn their fortunes around.
A change of system to a back three is one tweak that has led to results - certainly in terms of clean sheets. In their last three home games they have recorded three shut outs.
Bringing George Lloyd back into the side is another. And a different change with one of his more senior players is also seeing Salop get the best out of one of the key summer signings.
Former Stoke City and Hull midfielder Sam Clucas arrived in the summer as one of the club's high profile acqusitions.
As was the case for most of the Salop side, the early weeks of the season were tough for the ex-Premier League man. Clucas was playing in the centre of midfield, where he has spent majority of his career.
But a switch to left wing back seems to have brought the best out of the 35-year-old midfielder, and Appleton has explained why they decided to make the tweak.
"You don’t play as many games in the Premier League as Sam has without having quality," explained the Salop boss.
"We realised pretty quickly with him that he loves getting after the ball and pressing people and sometimes we find him vacating the middle of the pitch and then we're getting caught a little bit.
"He played as a six last season and you think he'll naturally grow into that because of his experience.
"But, in fairness to him, he spent most of his career as an eight or a 10, playing a little bit higher up the pitch and more of an advanced role where he could get after people.
"We're delighted that he's gone into that position and made it his own. We know that if we need cover, he's more than capable of doing it.
"The fact that we've got him experienced on that side and Ruffels in the middle of the park and the experience he brings, it certainly makes us better and more competitive than we were in the start of the season."
