Sam Ricketts' search for the right Shrewsbury place to shop

The Shrews boss, one of few at the club not currently on the government’s job retention furlough scheme, says it is difficult to hone in on transfer targets because he is unaware of ‘if he is shopping in Harrods’ or elsewhere.

But Ricketts foresees less spending and a ‘reality check’ for clubs across the board this summer, with squad sizes also thinned due to the ongoing pressure caused by the freezing of income streams.

Town and other lower-league clubs were at least finally given clarity on the 2019/20 season last week, which was voted to a close.

Salop acted quickly in revealing their retained list for next season, releasing four members of the first-team squad and offering five new deals.

“It’s not easy because you don’t know the parameters you’re working in, so the range of players you are watching, analysing and looking into is larger than if you know the finances exactly,” Ricketts said of summer business.

“The biggest, when putting finances in through transfer fees and wages, if that you need to know where you are at.

“You need to know if you’re shopping in Harrods or where you’re going to go shopping. That narrows down the players you are looking at.”

The Shrews boss continued: “I think you’re going to see less spending, lesser squad sizes, cutbacks from a number of sides, some might remain the same.

“There might be a handful of clubs who can exploit the situation.

“It’s certainly going to be a bit of reality to check to football clubs, not just next season but the season after and the one after that as everyone comes to terms with this situation.”

Ricketts believes mooted plans to introduce salary caps and limit squad sizes to lower-league clubs are likely to go ahead, though the Town chief has spoken out against owners who put their clubs at risk by overspending.

Midfielder Romain Vincelot, 34, and goalkeeper Joe Murphy, 38, have been released by the club, as have youngsters Kian Taylor and Lifumpa Mwandwe.

They are just a handful of more than 1,000 lower-league footballers who are out of contract on June 30.

Welshman Ricketts has sympathy with those players without the security of a contract, in a ‘really difficult time’.

The former Wrexham boss and Wolves defender believes such insecurity highlights how football can be one of the most ‘precarious’ industries to work in.

“It certainly is a really difficult time,” Ricketts added. “It’s the most uncertain time (for players) and this is probably the worst time to ever be out of contract going back many years.

“It’s uncertain for them but unfortunately they are not alone. There’s over 1,000 players in the same situation.

“That’s why football is the greatest job, but it is also a precarious job and one that doesn’t have a great amount of security.

“It’s not nice. This is highlighting that football is great, but also has its down sides as well.”

Shrewsbury have 16 first-team squad members under contract and were not planning a major squad overhaul this summer, even before the global pandemic.

But Ricketts still has a number of positions within his squad to address and targets are thought to have been drawn up based on a number of financial scenarios.