Shrewsbury Town's Max aiming high in battle of the Lowes in clash with Ryan and Bury
Loan man Max Lowe is well aware of the different threat already-relegated Bury pose to Shrewsbury tomorrow.
The Shakers’ fate was sealed last weekend as a late Northampton winner at Gigg Lane condemned them to a 26th – and fatal – defeat of a hapless season.
Max’s namesake Ryan, a former Gay Meadow favourite, has been unable to halt Bury’s slide since taking the caretaker job in November.
Paul Hurst has already been stung by Ryan Lowe’s Bury this season. A drizzly Tuesday night saw table-topping Town, four points clear at the summit, lose at rock-bottom Bury merely a few weeks into Lowe’s regime.
It was a rare low in an almost flawless first half of Shrewsbury’s season.
Max Lowe was recalled to Hurst’s starting Town XI for Tuesday’s defeat against Charlton, a loss that all-but killed hopes of automatic promotion, to fill in at left-back for the suspended Omar Beckles.
The 20-year-old on-loan from Derby has made 12 appearances, playing 90 minutes in the league just five times, but is wary of how a side already relegated can hurt a team at the other end of the table.
“They’ll be playing with a lot of freedom which could benefit us on the counter attack,” warned the full-back about tomorrow’s visitors, who clinched an impressive 3-3 draw at Doncaster while blooding some academy youngsters on Tuesday night.
“But they’ll be playing with pride as well. We’ve got to show what we’re capable of doing.”
Lowe added: “It has been mainly positives and that’s why it was a little bit of a shock when we got into the changing room at the end of the game. We were all gutted.
“Obviously all the lads are aware, the players and gaffer know there is a big gap now. We’ll take it game by game. We are gutted. We want to win every game we play.
“We’re going to go tomorrow and get the three points.”
Beckles is available to Hurst tomorrow after his suspension, though the Town boss may weigh up the option to rest some who have played regular football this season. Stars Toto Nsiala and Shaun Whalley limped off against Charlton.
Hurst wants to see better from his side on the ball and in the final third.
Third-placed Town have all-but conceded their chase in reeling in Wigan and Blackburn.
Shrews have gone three games without scoring and won just once in last five outings.
The Montgomery Waters Meadow chief insists the players need to make good of the ‘fine details’ that are drummed into them each day at Sundorne Castle.
“One hundred per cent we’ve got to get better on the ball,” said Hurst. “Little simple passes that go the wrong side to break momentum or kick it out of play in a simple pass.
“They are fine details we always try to hammer home on the training ground that are important and at times – I’m not sure always – that players, and not just our lads, appreciate the practices.
“They’re all there for the standards on game day.
“There’s certainly some things, if we find ourselves in a similar situation, we’ve got to get better.”
Hurst added: “In the end that’s where we’ve got to better, certainly when we’ve gone behind, at not letting teams off the hook by giving cheap free-kicks away.”
