Sam Ricketts: Wolves clash is welcome and not a distraction for Shrewsbury Town

Town take a threadbare squad, due to several ineligibilities and suspensions, to Molineux for the fourth-round replay.

Ricketts recently said his first team looked fatigued after playing eight matches in an intense January.

The bigger picture of League One survival is Town’s bread and butter with a crunch trip to Bristol Rovers on Saturday, which pits 20th with second-bottom Salop.

“You can never say this game isn’t welcome. It’s an FA Cup tie which we worked incredibly hard to get in,” said Ricketts ahead of his side’s seventh clash of an impressive run.

“We’re looking forward to it. Ask the players if they want to play at Molineux – a Premier League ground against Premier League players.

“They’re all itching to play it.

“It’s a distraction in one way but then the other way it’s a real big positive as well, an opportunity to go and perform on a great stage.”

Town have been unable to follow up fine performances and results in the competition, such as the 3-2 comeback victory at Stoke, with required results in League One.

“We’ve had momentum from the FA Cup and maybe haven’t been able to bounce back in the league with the same level of performance,” added the boss.

“That’s through number of games, possibly, but you go into every game wanting to win. I’d take the win and build from there.

“They’ll be up for the game. They’ll thrive on how I want to approach the game, each individual, the same as we do in every game. Clarity is key.”

Molineux is nearing a sell-out for home fans, a feat unheard of for previous ties against lower league clubs.

Shrewsbury had shifted 2,500 tickets from their 4,500 allocation as of yesterday.

Ricketts said several youth players will be required to make up his matchday squad of 18.