Louis Dodds forced to sit out final Shrewsbury Town game of the season
Shrewsbury Town will be without top scorer Louis Dodds for tomorrow's season finale at Oxford – as boss Paul Hurst called on his players to remain professional in completing their survival mission.
Town need only a point at the Kassam Stadium to mathematically secure League One status, though in truth it would take a series of results almost unprecedented in the history of the game for them to be relegated.
Nevertheless, Hurst will demand nothing less than full commitment from his team and has warned he won't be quick to forget if they finish the campaign in messy fashion.
"This is another opportunity for players to show what good professionals they are," said the boss,who has ruled Dodds out due to an Achilles injury. "That goes for training too. There are some already who almost had the flip-flops on, maybe not preparing as well as they could.
"It might be a small detail that might not come out instantly but in the future it might be brought up. It might stay in my mind.
"You always want ultimate professionals. I think I know a couple of them who are like that. Maybe others still have it to prove."
Were Town to lose, it would still require wins for Gillingham and Port Vale – including a 10-goal swing for Vale – and a draw for Bury for Hurst's men Town to fall into the bottom three.
But he added: "There is still an element of caution. I know there are some people out there who might think I'm mad because of what it would take (for us to go down). We just have to make sure we show the right attitude."
Dodds is out after picking up an Achilles injury in last week's win over Southend.
"He won't be risked," explained Hurst.
