Mat Sadler a reflection of Shrewsbury transformation

The defender was scarcely used under Micky Mellon as Town found themselves rock-bottom of League One and in dire need of change, writes Lewis Cox.

Almost six months on and Paul Hurst is fully at home at Greenhous Meadow and you could put forward a strong argument to name Sadler as Shrews' player of the season.

Balance

The Brummie defender, who has taken the captain's armband since Abu Ogogo's injury, is one of the reasons Town have been revitalised under Hurst.

While Shrewsbury have come a long way under their latest chief – winning 10, drawing seven and losing 11 of their 28 League One games – survival continues to remain in the balance.

But the manner Hurst has Town playing in and the spirit and energy he has breathed into the team means that a new era is well under way, according to the 32-year-old.

Safety is far from a given but Sadler is well aware of Hurst's ambition.

"I played that day and it feels chalk and cheese now," he said.

"It's a different era, without a shadow of a doubt.

"It's a different place to what it was then and we're desperate to stay safe, absolutely desperate to stay safe because we want to have a big go at the league next season."

The boss has previously spoken about raising expectations at Greenhous Meadow and has emphasised that, should his side secure their status, then the bar should be raised and the club should not just be content with fighting the drop.

"I think having a big go at the league next season is exactly what the management here would want," he added.

"We got beat 4-2, any team that beats you and gets the better of you you want to prove, as a professional and for personal pride, that you can beat them.

"They got the better of us and now we want the better of them."

One key cog in securing safety looks to be Stefan Payne. The former non-league forward found the opening to his Shrews career tough, with a recurrence of a metatarsal injury.

But two goals in two games, including Friday's flying header to secure a crucial point against rivals Walsall, have helped silence doubters.

The on-loan Barnsley man took a knee to the back against Walsall but looked set to continue his key attacking role at Northampton's Sixfields today.

Sadler points to Payne's improvements, some of them mentally after coming through his foot complaint, and the strength in depth to Shrewsbury's attack when sounding out factors that could be crucial to ending the season on a high.

"It was a stop-start beginning to his Shrewsbury career and he probably came to us off the back of a niggling injury and hadn't found the answers in his mind to that injury," added Sadler.

"He's found those answers for sure now. He's looking stronger, he's looking fitter and looking a different beast moving into the last few games.

"He's a real threat, a real handful, especially in training, as is Freddie (Ladapo), as is Steve (Humphrys) and so are AJ (Leitch-Smith) and Doddsy. There's real quality there, it's a real positive.

"Sometimes you can go into these games thinking 'we've got no options here and there, we're just playing what's out there'.

"We're in a good position. We've got options, fingers crossed that'll be a deciding factor for us."

Town haven't lost in their last three visits to Sixfields, including a memorable 7-2 success in 2011 – where five goals were plundered inside the final eight minutes.

Sadler and former defender Hurst would much prefer an uneventful 1-0 but even a wily professional like the ex-Blues stopper knows the occasion is huge and possibly decisive.

The visit of Southend and a trip to Oxford round off the campaign.

"There's no point in glossing or under-selling the game, it's massive," said Sadler.

"As it looks at the moment 50 or 51 points probably keeps you safe.

"There's some big games to be played between now and the end of the season and people have got to get us over the line."