Sam Ricketts careful with Shrewsbury Town budget
Manager Sam Ricketts will work with an eye on the Shrewsbury Town purse strings as he conducts transfer business this summer.
The Welshman pointed to his low spending while in charge at Montgomery Waters Meadow and stresses he will look to shop prudently with the 'fantastically well' run club.
The summer window, which is likely to be affected both in terms of dates and fees spent by the coronavirus pandemic, will be Ricketts' second at the helm.
Ricketts, appointed in December 2018, explained that Town's big outlay last summer came on defender Aaron Pierre, but beyond securing his services from Northampton, fees were nominal. Town aim to find value for money without 'throwing money around'.
"I've not really spent any money since I've been in," Ricketts said.
"Aaron Pierre was the one last year, Dan Udoh had a small fee and Brad Walker was nominal too. Aaron Pierre is the only one we've spent money on.
"It's an area we look for and try to get good value for money.
"The club has been run fantastically well, so it's not to throw money around. You have to spend it like it's your own and look after it."
Town have won plaudits during the break from football for a healthy set of accounts and deciding against first-team wage deferrals.
A bigger turnaround was required last summer as Ricketts was able to put his stamp on the squad for the first time.
The boss has explained that he is working with his recruitment team to scour the lower leagues, non-league and under-23s football for bargains.
Asked about the prospect of unearthing gems in the non-league game, Ricketts replied: "We have a good understanding of the best players. It's quite hard to recruit from because it's a big step up.
"Dan Udoh has done fantastically well because he's got an unbelievable attitude and wants to make that jump more than many players you ever come across.
"He's the reason he has been a success but you can get good players at that level certainly."
Former non-league striker Udoh was brought in from neighbours AFC Telford last summer after a prolific spell at the New Bucks Head and has gone on to become a key part of Town's squad.
