Bernard McNally: FA Cup magic will be a welcome break for Shrewsbury Town

It might just be what Town need; the Shropshire Senior Cup final against Telford on Tuesday was postponed and now the squad will be fresh to face Barnet in the FA Cup on Saturday at the Meadow.

The competition gives everyone a natural change of routine and a real boost.

It still has the magic. Paul's priority is the league, there's no doubt about that, but if you suddenly start progressing in the FA Cup – it's a very welcome bonus.

I've always said to players, your desire will grow as you go through rounds of the cup.

It'll be a tough tie against Barnet but the excitement will grow if you get through and there's the prospect of good opposition in the next round.

Paul will have enjoyed the free week and he's been able to rest up the injured players.

It was fantastic news that Jack Grimmer and in particular Shaun Whalley have returned to fitness for the Cup tie. Shaun is the one that has caught my eye this season with his performances prior to injury and Micky Mellon was unlucky to lose him for such a stretch after he injured his calf against Peterborough.

I think we all feared for Joe Riley when hearing Paul talk about 'fearing the worst' and it turns out he must undergo minor surgery on his knee problem.

Myself and all of the Town fans wish him the very best. He had an awful knee injury while coming through at Bolton and I was so relieved to hear that the estimated recovery time is between four and six weeks – which is much better for the lad than it could've been.

For the returning players now there's a little bit of pressure in terms of stepping up to mark and matching the effort that the team put in at Southend.

To get more bodies on the training field and more in contention for positions is vital for any new manager.

The resilience and how his side defended balls into the box will be the big positive for Paul in the point gained at Roots Hall.

To come in at such short notice to a new squad and get across the way you want to play is tough.

It's going to take him a couple of weeks at least. But the positives from how the team performed, first half and second – for different reasons – is that they had the 1-1 and were able to hold on to it. They did show a strength and a resilience to weather the storm.

They've conceded goals late on recently so it was certainly a step in the right direction.

The players gave a strong defensive performance and that was a big bonus for the new Town boss.

The defence rose to the challenge and were fighting to get their head on every ball.

Sometimes as defenders people think you can just sit back. But you've got to be prepared, when the ball comes into the box, to attack the ball.

And I must end on Adam El-Abd's goal – the first of Paul's reign – he'll certainly be showing the grandchildren that in years to come!