New Shrewsbury Town role for Jason Cummings

Former Scotland international Cummings, 25, spent most of his first season with Salop in a centre-forward role, but Ricketts has hinted about using the former Hibernian hotshot on the right of a 4-3-3 system.

Cummings, whose goals for Hibs earned him a big move to Nottingham Forest in 2017, top scored for Shrewsbury with seven goals in 31 outings last term. And Ricketts is ready to use his star striker in a somewhat new role, albeit one Cummings caught the eye in just before the Covid-19 shutdown, when the League One campaign gets up and running next month.

“Football is not really about the system, it’s about putting players in their best areas, where they are most dangerous,” said Ricketts.

“Jason is very dangerous with his left foot, cutting in on that side, we saw that in the last couple of games before lockdown.

“His main attributes suit not being a wide midfielder, but part of a front three, playing on the right-hand side to cut in and use his left foot.”

Ricketts has new signing Rekeil Pyke and former AFC Telford striker Daniel Udoh as his other centre-forward options and is likely to be in the market for another striker.

The Town boss often used 5-4-1 or 3-4-3 in his first 18 months at the club, but early suggestions ahead of the new season are of a more attacking style.

“We’re just trying to keep evolving really,” Ricketts added.

“It takes a year to 18 months to really nail down any system. I think we’ve got very, very good to three at the back, whether it’s 3-4-3 or 5-4-1.

“We’re just trying to add another element to our game and take the next step as a team to take advantage of more situations and ultimately we need to score more goals.

“This will give us a good chance in doing so but it’ll take a long time to get it right. But we need to win games as well.”