Sam Ricketts ensuring Shrewsbury Town adapt
Sam Ricketts has been putting plans in place to ensure Shrewsbury can be adaptable when football returns.
The Town boss says he has been attempting to cover all bases despite the continued uncertainty surrounding League One.
Most of the manager’s fellow staff remain on furlough leave, but the Welshman hopes that Shrewsbury will be able to pick up in a good place – whether that happens in a week or two, or a couple of months.
“The thing is being able to adapt. That’s the biggest thing for any football coach or manager,” Town boss Ricketts said.
“You could be walking out on to the field thinking you have 20 players to train and some pull out injured, or in younger age groups the first-team manager may want a player or two. You have to get on with it.
“That’s where years and years of experience between all the staff, myself, Graham (Barrow), Deano (Whitehead), AJ (Andy Johnson), have that.
“When we are all back in we’ll know what we’re doing.
“Currently it’s just me because everyone’s on furlough, but it doesn’t mean I can’t plan and have a good idea of what we’re going to do.”
Town have been out of action since early March.
Ricketts continued: “It’s about planning in general. You plan for a bit of normality, in case we are back next week.
“But at the same time it could be planning for not being back for two months or however long it is.
“The planning process, logic and thinking probably gets to about 80 or 90 per cent, also knowing that you don’t want to put everything in place, until you know what is happening. You’re covering a lot of bases with your planning. Some are similar for whether you return next week or for the beginning of pre-season. Much is the same.”
Meanwhile, Town yesterday evening received the ballot paper for next week’s crucial vote to end the season.
Five days’ notice was required for clubs before the EFL’s extraordinary general meeting, which was planned for Monday, but will now take place on Tuesday.
League One clubs were thought to be growing frustrated at a lack of action and clarity on how the season will be concluded.
It is in next week’s meeting that EFL bosses will pass the proposed framework on ending the season, should 51 per cent of clubs agree to the regulation changes.
A vote will then go ahead whether to end the season, ranking teams in the EFL’s proposed unweighted points-per-games method.
