Richie Wellens: Let's do a Leicester City
Richie Wellens believes Shrewsbury Town can be inspired by his former club Leicester City's title challenge.
Wellens reckons Micky Mellon's men can push for the League One play-offs next season if they win their survival battle.
Wellens, who made 149 appearances for the Foxes from 2009-13, is delighted at City's shock domination of the Premier League this season which sees them five points clear with seven games left.
And he reckons Town can copy Leicester's determination to succeed and galvanise their chances of becoming a force in the division for the next campaign.
"The top teams usually win the league because they've got so much more quality," said Wellens. "Leicester couldn't do that, so they found a way of playing at the end of last season.
"They haven't got the best players or the best team in the Premier League, but they're top, so they're doing something right in terms of the spirit.
"We've had a great run for nine games. If we can finish the next eight games off well it will give us confidence going into next season to say 'can we look forward to challenging for the play-offs?'
"It would lift the profile of the club, rather than getting safe and letting the season peter out and saying 'let's just try to stay up' again.
"I'm sure the manager will try to sign players in the summer to try to take us to the next level."
Wellens said Leicester's ambition can be traced back to his time with the club.
"In my first season there we got beat on penalties in the play-offs and Nigel Pearson got sacked," he said.
"We had a meeting where we were told 'in three or four years' time the club will be in the Champions League and in five years, we're going to win the Premier League'," he said.
"We thought that was a bit optimistic – to say the least – but it's probably going to come true.
"The Champions League place is almost 100 per cent assured and Leicester winning the title would be the best story in football I've ever known."
