Comment: Signs of progress but now Shrewsbury Town must keep it up

Some fans went into the season, the first full campaign under Sam Ricketts, unsure over how much faith to invest.

Was this going to be merely another season of battling the drop, like last time? Survival should no longer be a passable or acceptable outcome, particularly given the show of ambition in the transfer window.

After their taste of success a couple of seasons ago Town fans’ aims have shifted. They don’t expect to be fighting for the top two, but they expect more than merely escaping the doom of League Two.

Snap decisions and short-termism are no good but fans were left undecided even a few games into the season. They could see the new-look side Ricketts had implemented was set up to be solid and not concede.

But would they score?

It was a difficult few weeks for fans who wanted answers in forward positions. They were delivered on September 2 as Jason Cummings and Callum Lang waltzed in. The final pieces of the puzzle?

Town are unbeaten in the league since then. Just the three games owing to an international break, but that run goes in-hand nicely with their unbeaten home record and the not-to-be-sniffed-at four clean sheets in nine games.

Cummings, the last but not least of 13 new additions, was a shot in the arm for Ricketts and the club. A high-profile capture on a permanent deal. A show of ambition.

Town now find themselves in a decent position heading into this weekend.

They welcome a side in Fleetwood who will pose a test to their unbeaten home record. The Cod Army, in fourth, are seven places and four points better off than Salop before the start of play.

Joey Barton’s men have enjoyed a better start to the season than Town, but Shrewsbury must give another show of their ambition with a positive result in front of home fans today.

Three points and Shrewsbury supporters, having seen their side climb into the top 10, will be marvelling at an impressive start to the campaign.

The message is clear and simple. Make hay while the mood is positive and strike while the iron is hot.

Town fans have been craving a reason to get behind Ricketts’ tenure, which is now 10 months or so old, and this ambitious squad should be reason enough.

They will want to see a further example, with new strikers having settled in at the Meadow, of attacking intent at home against competitive opposition. Fleetwood have high aims this term.

Make no mistake, this Town squad should only grow stronger. As Ricketts is right to point out they are some way from full match fitness, a status fans love to overlook, but nonetheless impossible to ignore.

It might take Cummings four or five more games to get up to full speed, Ollie Norburn is not there yet either. Ditto Aaron Pierre, Fejiri Okenabirhie, Louis Thompson. There are more.

But that can’t be an excuse as Town aim to build on their good start to a season. Three points would make their record after 10 games one point better off than the League Two promotion campaign five years ago.