'I've always trusted my players' - Shrewsbury Town squad to spend Christmas Day at home
Shrewsbury Town's players will spend Christmas at home away from the training ground, with Michael Appleton underlining the importance of trust and responsibility.
Salop visit fellow League Two strugglers Cheltenham on Boxing Day, looking to end a five-match winless run in the league. Shrewsbury sit two points clear of the relegation zone, while Cheltenham - managed by former Salop boss Steve Cotterill - are unbeaten in three league matches and lie 18th.
Appleton revealed he has never believed in making players attend training on Christmas Day and remains confident his squad will prepare professionally, pointing to his strong record of Boxing Day results as evidence that the approach works.
"I've never done it, I've always put trust in my players," he said.
"It's something I've never done. If I can't trust the players to be sensible on Christmas Day and have a fantastic day with their families and children, then I'm never going to be able to trust them.
"All I would say is that I'd say from a results point of view, I've had a hell of a lot more positive results on Boxing Day than I've not.
"So I know people will want to throw stones if you don't get a result and you're not in on Christmas Day, but I don't believe in that because history tells me that's a load of rubbish.
"So yes, the players will work seriously hard. But they will be spending Christmas with their families."
Shrewsbury will be looking to respond after a 1-0 defeat to Chesterfield last Saturday, which marked their final home fixture of the calendar year.
Asked whether he enjoys the busy festive schedule, Appleton added: "I used to enjoy it more when I was playing, if I'm being honest, but those days are long gone.
"When you've got a smaller squad, sometimes the games can come a little bit too quickly and you quite enjoy having that period in between the games to recuperate.
"If you're doing really well, winning on a regular basis, you're happy with it because you want the games to come thick and fast.
"It's a great time of year for fans. If we get three or four positive results from the four games and you ask me that question, then I'm going to say, yes, it's been great and it's what I want all the time.
"But if it's the opposite, then you want to have a little bit more time to recuperate and get yourself reorganised."
