Sam Ricketts: Stick together Shrewsbury
Sam Ricketts is expecting an instant response from his flailing Shrewsbury Town side as they prepare for a bottom four clash against Burton Albion tomorrow.
Town were hammered 5-1 at Peterborough United on Saturday, their heaviest league defeat for four-and-a-half years, and find themselves 22nd in League One following four straight defeats.
The struggling Brewers are 23rd ahead of their trip to Montgomery Waters Meadow, level on six points but one goal worse off than Ricketts’ side.
The hosts will be without Josh Vela as the midfield begins serving his three-match ban for a costly straight red card in first-half stoppage time at Peterborough on Saturday. Posh’s man advantage told after the break as the hosts, who went top of the third tier, converted three second-half goals without reply.
Ricketts said: “You have to (stick together). You have to take the game in context and get ready to go again tomorrow. We’ve got to get ready to get the points we need.
“Performances have been good. Saturday was there for the taking but there’s no getting away from individual errors that cost us the game.
“We have to see a response where we don’t make errors that cost us goals and that’s basically it.”
Ricketts was critical of individual errors as some limp defending allowed the Posh to attack the visiting goal time after time on Saturday. Shrewsbury started the game well but fell behind after Harry Burgoyne conceded a penalty. Josh Daniels levelled with his first Shrewsbury goal before Posh’s Siriki Dembele struck the first of an impressive hat-trick as Peterborough then struck three times in the final 20 minutes to condemn Salop.
Full debut goalscorer Daniels, 24, said: “It’s been overshadowed, it would’ve obviously been nice to get the three points as well. If I’d have come into the team and we’d have done well and got three points it would’ve been just as good as a goal or better.
“It’s bitter-sweet for me. We need the three points as the games come thick and fast.
“It’s nice to get in and start, it was my full debut and I was buzzing to get the call but the game swung on its head on the brink of half-time. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for us.
“We know it’s not going well. We’re basically in the trenches and it’s up to us to get out. People can throw (at the) staff, manager, whoever, but it’s us as players and we know that. We won’t sit and mope and blame each other. We’ll work as hard as we can
.”
