Shrewsbury Town must end away hoodoo, says Matt Richards
Skipper Matt Richards has challenged Shrewsbury Town to end their away hoodoo when they resume action at Crawley on?Saturday.
Richards is baffled why Town have not chalked up success on their travels this season. But the former Ipswich and Walsall midfielder believes the enforced break in action could work in Town's favour in the only the club's second visit to the Broadfield Stadium.
"We've been unfortunate at times this season. At Stevenage and Brentford we should have got more (than a point) and we controlled the game in the second half at Oldham, but couldn't quite find an opening," said Richards.
"I'm sure the win will come soon and then there will be a few wins in a row.
"It's about breaking that duck and then we'll be on our way. We can't quite put our finger on it and we're just as frustrated as the fans as we know we should be doing better.
"The support this year has been tremendous and we owe them a win or two.
"The people who have travelled to places like Portsmouth and Bournemouth have given us tremendous support.
"So far we haven't hit the heights we hit last season, but hopefully we can turn things around and produce some wins."
Shrewsbury have slipped into relegation trouble after registering just one win in their last eight games.
Opportunity
But their blank weekend after their early FA Cup exit offered Graham Turner a chance to embark on a team-building exercise at RAF Shawbury.
But Richards insists even without the sessions at the military base, team morale remains high despite the slump on the pitch.
"We've had time off to recover and think about the rest of the season really. It's been a good opportunity to get ourselves ready again as there's a lot of points to play for," added Richards.
"There is a good team spirit still and we're working hard for each other.
"We've got to stick together, work hard and fight for each other really.
"There's no point in it being doom and gloom as we know there is a lot of talent in this team, although we've just not shown it at the right times this season."
* Shrewsbury went through to the next round of the Youth Alliance Cup after beating Hull 4-3 on penalties after the game ended goalless.
