Shrewsbury v Gillingham - Match preview

From the Championship at former club Wolves to the National League North with AFC Telford, Lowestoft and Corby via a spell in Scottish football with Falkirk, he has put in the hard yards, writes Lewis Cox.

The 23-year-old Salopian, from Ludlow, has played more than 50 games in those stints across Britain but, on the eve of his first League One start with Shrewsbury against Gillingham tomorrow, he is determined to prove himself as more than capable in the third tier.

Burgoyne’s long-awaited debut in blue and amber in the Carabao Cup exit at Middlesbrough last month didn’t go to plan, but he showed flashes of his quality from the bench at former club Plymouth last weekend.

And now, with Matija Sarkic sidelined with injury possibly until next year, Burgoyne feels it is his time.

“I’ve played in the Championship, I’ve played in League Two and I’ve not yet played in League One. It’s something I want to go and do,” he said.

“In my opinion there is nothing stopping me from going and being the best keeper in the league.

“That’s my goal for the season. I want to play as many games as I can for the club, keep as many clean sheets and get us up near the top of the table where we strive to be.

“There’s nothing stopping me from being the best keeper in the league in my opinion.”

The goalkeeper added: “After the Middlesbrough game I didn’t have the opportunity to prove that it was a blip, that it’s not me and I could do a lot better – but that’s football, sometimes it doesn’t always go your way.

“You need to be ready when called upon and luckily last Saturday I was.

“When games happen like that (Middlesbrough) it’s all about dusting yourself down and doing it right next time, not making the same mistakes and learning from what you’ve done.

“All you can do is come back and do the best you can and that’s what I’ll go and do.”

Sam Ricketts is expected to call on Burgoyne between the sticks against the Gills at Montgomery Waters Meadow tomorrow as Town aim to discover that winning feeling.

Ricketts said: “It’s the next chance for Harry to play. He started out very well (with Wolves) and is now just finding his feet and getting going again.

“He has a great attitude and he’ll be desperately looking forward to the game.”

Gills sit seventh in the early League One table after two wins from their first three games. Town are out to secure their first league victory of the campaign – though Ricketts is confident wins will come if performances continue.

For the boss, the Meadow fixture is another opportunity for his side to display their new style and ethos.

“The players are looking forward to playing another game,” Ricketts said. “They feel in a good place, performances are very encouraging. We’re just looking to continue that.

“I want us to continue our way of playing and improving on it.”

Shilow Tracey could make his long-awaited Shrewsbury debut against the Gills after finally linking up with his new team-mates this week.

The 22-year-old winger signed on loan from Tottenham a fortnight ago, but had not trained with his new side until this week and was unavailable for matches.

Visiting skipper Stuart O’Keefe is out for the season with a broken leg and ligament damage. Midfielders Kyle Dempsey (ankle) and Matty Willock (hamstring) are also ruled out.

New centre-half Christian Maghoma has been passed fit to feature, however, after testing negative for Covid-19.