Shrewsbury Town are all 'good team-mates'
Manager Micky Mellon insists Shrewsbury Town have a pitch full of good team-mates after they leaped towards League One safety.
Saturday's backs-to-the-wall 3-2 win at Gillingham lifted Town to four points above the drop zone and they need just three points from their last three games to be safe.
Town are now preparing for tomorrow's re-arranged derby at Walsall – their game in hand – and Mellon saluted their character after they ended their seven-match win-less run, despite being pegged back twice.
He said: "There's a great belief among them. We've worked hard on building that and we speak about it all the time.
"The important thing is to be a good team-mate and, on Saturday, we had a pitch full of good team-mates."
Mellon reserved special praise for his back line, continuing: "They (centre backs Zak Whitbread and Nathaniel Knight-Percival) were amazing.
"So were young Jack Grimmer, Mat Sadler and the two boys that played in front of them (Abu Ogogo and James Wesolowski) and the goalkeeper (Jayson Leutwiler).
"They all defended very well and any questions that got asked of them they were desperate to try to answer."
Sullay Kaikai scored the first goal for his 12th in 24 games and set up the other two.
Mellon said: "He looked the real deal – he just glides around the pitch effortlessly and makes the game look easy, at times."
Like the 1-1 draw against Bradford nine days ago, Town had to defend for much of the game but Mellon felt his side coped better, despite being unhappy with the many free-kicks they conceded.
He said: "I felt more comfortable on Saturday than for the Bradford game. They fought away and we always looked a threat with our pace up front."
Andy Mangan scored on his first start since March 25, in place of Kyle Vassell.
Mellon added: "I felt the pace of 'Mangs' and the link-up play of Jean-Louis (Akpa Akpro) with Kaikai in behind would be a constant threat."
Midfielder Ian Black managed to walk off the field after initially leaving on a stretcher after landing on his neck at the end of the game.
A club statement said: "Black landed awkwardly so was immobilised to ensure he was OK. He was checked out and then walked back to the bus OK."
James Wallace's injury curse has struck again after he landed on his knee in training and jarred it.
