Sam Ricketts wants Shrewsbury Town players to be hungry for taste of success

The Salop boss is keen to stress the importance of ‘expecting’ to win matches and believes that comes when teams are accustomed to managing wins.

Shrewsbury have an immediate opportunity to build on their 2-1 success at Peterborough – a second league win under Sam Ricketts – with the visit of Doncaster tonight.

Donny are sixth in League One and both clubs will be looking to take advantage of tonight’s sole League One clash, delayed as a result of FA Cup exploits.

“Momentum is everything,” said Ricketts. “It’s a big feeling when you go on the pitch expecting to win, thinking ‘we’ll win today’, rather than hoping.

“That’s where we want to get to. Our performances have been good enough to win more games.

“There’s a good atmosphere and seeing games out comes from confidence and repetition, doing it again and again.

“Whether that be seeing out a draw against a very good side or a win against another team. It’s still managing the situation of the game.”

Ricketts has been unhappy with how his side have managed games during his tenure. Town have shipped added time goals against Peterborough, Wolves and Bradford in recent months.

He felt Town looked edgy in the previous home league game, a 1-1 draw with Burton, but believes wins build ‘composure’.

“Consistency is the most important thing for any side,” added Ricketts. “We have to maintain our levels. With that builds more confidence and composure when we try to see games out.

“If you’re on a good run and you’ve done it once, twice, three times, it builds. Seeing games out becomes more routine than a one-off.

“It’s a good time and hopefully we can continue building and progressing.”

Ollie Norburn serves a one-match ban tonight for his red card on Saturday.