Shrewsbury Town may turn to young guns
Manager Micky Mellon has hinted at the possibility of blooding the next Shrewsbury Town academy 'cab off the rank' now they are safe.
The Town boss has relied on a similar group of first-team players to achieve League One safety.
But now they have avoided relegation, he is considering changes for the final League game of the season away to Swindon this Sunday lunchtime.
That means he could turn to 17-year-old striker Ethan Jones, who was promoted to the senior ranks with a one-year deal recently.
The likes of ex-Bolton teenage centre-back Callum Grogan or versatile defender Callum Roberts could also make a debut at the County Ground.
Mellon said: "I haven't been considering anyone else for anything other than the next game until we got over the line. My focus has been purely on that.
"But now it's come to considering that, if I think someone deserves an opportunity and they're good enough – like we did with young Josh Ginnelly last season – then they'll play."
Mellon believes the academy needs to continue to be a source of recruitment and revealed the club have a pathway written down for all their youngsters.
He said: "We have a matrix for every player at the football club. Every player is benchmarked in terms of what we believe they're going to do here.
"It's a document we keep hidden away but every player, right down to probably the Under-13s and 14s, are benchmarked.
"We take care of their careers and, if we think there's a future for them here and a pathway for them, they'll be on that matrix."
Mellon believes there are several schoolboys who could progress to the full-time academy this summer and is excited about the future.
He said: "Under-16s down is something I ask about all the time and I know there's a number of very good players in there, and there's a pathway for them.
"So we won't recruit in those age groups because we believe there are Under-14s, Under-15s and Under-16s here who need a pathway. There are a number of them who we're excited about."
