Peter Wilding sees mid-table for Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Town have been backed to beat the bookies' odds tipping them for another fight against relegation in League One.
Despite eight new signings, Micky Mellon's side have been made sixth favourites for the drop next season.
William Hill quote them as short as 13-8, while Coral and SkyBet rate them 9-4.
However, Port Vale, Bury, Oldham, Chesterfield and Swindon are all tipped to finish below Salop.
And former Town favourite Pete Wilding believes Mellon's signings and management will take them in another direction entirely.
The 47-year-old, who is now recruiting for Stoke City for the aged 16-21 age level, said: "I can see them finishing mid-table and above, so I'd disagree with the bookies.
"He'll see that as a big stepping stone from last season. Last time they survived, but they can learn from that and improve.
"What I and the fans believe is we have a manager who's very hard-working and thorough in his research and he has the experience from League One he wanted.
"He's brought some new faces in, but they pretty much all have experience of this league and are hungry to achieve. He will have the belief in them to do a good job.
"I know the wages have got a lot higher from my day but they're not going to come here for an easy pay day because he's not the sort of person to want that sort of player.
"He'll make mistakes, like any manager at any level, but he's very strict and disciplined in his approach from what I've seen."
Wilding, who made 218 appearances for Town from 1997-2003, reckons Shrewsbury will continue to shock the bigger teams after achieving the sixth best away record last term.
The former defender said: "Town turn it on against the big sides and it suits them. Their away form was superb last season and it probably kept them in the league."
Wilding believes Town's policy of building their infrastructure slowly but surely is paying off.
He said: "It's easy for us to spend the chairman's money, but like he did with the ground, he's seen that and done it gradually. The training ground is a carrot to attract players.
"Iit's another thing they're getting right, just like they got the pitch right last season after it was cutting up from Christmas onwards the season before.
"And the support will always be there, home and away."
