Lenell John-Lewis is hoping to stay at Shrewsbury Town

The striker was handed a six-month contract in the summer as the club stuck by him during his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

John-Lewis, 30, has since made his return after 11 months on the sidelines with the second ACL injury of his career.

The former Grimsby and Newport forward’s contract runs out in January but he wants to extend his two-and-a-half year stay at Shrewsbury and is confident he can make a big contribution to Ricketts’ side.

“Of course, I want to stay,” said John-Lewis. “The club’s moving places and I want to be a part of it.

“I came to the club to try to help it achieve what it wants to. I don’t want to go anywhere.

“It’s been about getting fit and I like to think that I know what I can do on the pitch so there’s something there (for me).”

The frontman added: “It feels like I’ve been here a long time. I love the club, it’s a fantastic place to work.

“Coming out on a Saturday and being in front of the fans – I thank the fans that were at that Macclesfield game (on my return), the reception was unbelievable and to be honest I didn’t expect it. It blew me away. It’s a fantastic place.”

Ricketts was non-committal on extending John-Lewis’ Montgomery Waters Meadow stay but gave a glowing reference of the striker’s character.

The manager said: “To be fair to the club it was under no obligation to look after Lenny at all, but the way the club is it thought it was right he was still earning while injured. Not many clubs would do it.

“Now it’s a question of what happens next. He’s a good lad, I love his enthusiasm and having him around.”