Bernard McNally: Shrewsbury Town confidence remains high despite defeat
Abu Ogogo looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines and, if it turns out be the case, he will be a big loss for Shrewsbury.
The stand-in skipper picked up a knee injury during the 1-0 win at Scunthorpe last Saturday and was due to have a scan today.
He is a player that can really cover the ground in midfield. Sometimes you may not notice him but then he will suddenly pop up with a last-ditch tackle to stop a shot.
He chases lost causes and after watching him quite a few times, he has grown on me as a player. At first, you may miss him if you are looking for someone with bags of ability.
Then you start watching him and see the commitment he has, how he is a driving force in the team. He will be missed, there is no doubt about that, as you are losing a player who can really get around the pitch.
The result over the weekend was tremendous, bringing to an end Scunthorpe's 26-match unbeaten run at home.
An old saying is that good teams win 1-0 – that is something I was brought up with.
To go to Glanford Park and get that result was absolutely tremendous so Town were very much deserving of the praise they got over the weekend.
They were brought back down to earth a little bit on Tuesday night but the confidence among the players must still be there.
Of course, Stephen Humphrys got a second yellow and was sent off for blocking a quick free-kick at London Road, and also scored on a busy full debut.
That is frustrating because at the end of the day, he is trying to do something for the good of the side.
By the letter of the law though, he should not do that. Maybe he will have to learn to disguise it a little bit – the old tying your shoelace by the ball or something like that. It may well have been a bit of over-exuberance from the young lad, and he will learn from it.
Paul Hurst has done tremendously well since arriving and, as I have said before, I cannot praise him enough.
They are not going to get three points from every single game.
The run they were on – six games unbeaten – was fantastic but all good things do come to an end.
He would have liked to carry on the momentum and build on it but they will pick themselves up and go again on Saturday at home to AFC Wimbledon. The team looks like it is going somewhere now – there is a self-belief there and I believe the fans can see that too.
There is a lot more optimism around the Greenhous Meadow now. People that I know and work with are upbeat.
There was not that optimism earlier in the season but I am looking forward to going to the game on Saturday.
An expectation is growing, whereas before it was 'how long can we keep it at 0-0?'
The players will be eager to get their boots back on, get back out there and put things right from Tuesday – there is that sense of drive and determination about them.
