Dave Edwards: Shrewsbury Town not good enough in desperately poor defeat

But Town lacked the confidence and intensity that they needed. You can understand from a confidence point of view with the position they're in, but there was a part of them which I thought looked a little bit afraid.

Especially after Burton got the opening goal, they almost looked expectant that they were going to lose. That is disappointing because I've never ever questioned the effort of these Shrewsbury players.

I feel like they always emptied the tank, especially since Gareth Ainsworth has come in. They give their absolute all for the football club and I'll always give them the credit for that.

Ultimately, the position in the league shows that the players and the team aren't good enough at the moment, because they've had a good sample of the fixtures now and we're at the bottom of the league, cut adrift.

The one disappointing thing is I never really saw a reaction after that first goal and didn't see any players out on the pitch that were trying to rally the other players. It was very, very flat.

You don't want to go out and injure players but there was a need for someone to go into a big tackle to try and fire the crowd up a little bit and to noticeably, with your body language, be encouraging all the other players.

Use your arms, use gestures. You might be playing a bit of a game at times, but to the fans they need to see that you really care on the pitch.

I have no doubt that they do, because their attitude and application throughout the season has never been questioned, but sometimes you need to visibly show how much it means to you and that was really lacking.

There was a bit of an uncertainty in the way that we were playing. There wasn't enough conviction in the way we attacked or defended at times. In the end it came down to set pieces and we didn't defend ours, and Burton defended theirs better.

Rumarn Burrell scored the opening goal and was the difference for Burton on the day. He was the one player who had something a little bit different.

Gareth Ainsworth will be so disappointed with the way Shrewsbury went about that game. There wasn't enough intensity, there wasn't enough self-belief. There was a real lack of confidence.

At the end there was a lack of the ability to turn the game around. There was a lack of belief that they could get back into it and that's why I feel like they need someone, a real leader in the middle of that pitch or in the heart of that defence, who could get the best out of every single player and just make a real fight of it towards the end.

I won't question the attitude of the players but they did lack that belief. They now find themselves 14 points from safety with nine games to go.

The writing's on the wall, but as a player now, you're playing for your own future. Scouts, managers and coaches will be watching all these games. 

There'll be lots of players who aren't at Shrewsbury Town next year and there'll be lots of players who want to be at Shrewsbury Town next year to play under Gareth Ainsworth. 

This is your shop window now, with nine games to go. Can you show the heart, the spirit, the ability, the belief and the confidence that you're good enough to get another contract?

You can't go into this last period of games not fully committed to every single one.

You can't be a little bit half-hearted in tackles, you need to be full of confidence, you've got to want the ball and you've got to try and make things happen. You've got to go all out. 

That's what Shrewsbury need and that's what the players need to do for their own futures as well.

Hopefully we now see a reaction after this poor run. 

Stand up tall, face the challenge and go about it in the right way. I know Gareth Ainsworth will demand that from his players and hopefully we'll see that reaction after the international break against Birmingham.