Sam Ricketts: Questions on Shrewsbury future 'not for me to answer'

The under-pressure Town boss has guided his side to just one win from their opening 12 League One games this season, leading to sections of supporters calling for change after the last-gasp defeat at Ipswich.

Town, now without a league win in seven games, were 15 minutes from an historic first victory at Portman Road through skipper Ollie Norburn's fourth-minute penalty.

But Ethan Ebanks-Landell shanked in an own goal after 75 minutes and Jack Lankester stooped to head past Harry Burgoyne after the keeper could only tamely parry an Alan Judge strike, adding to the added time woe at home to Swindon last weekend.

Ricketts lamented individual errors and two more penalties that he felt referee Tim Robinson should have awarded his side, for fouls on Marc Pugh and Ryan Barnett.

But the boss would not be drawn into debate on his future. He said when asked: "That's not for me to answer. If the players weren't performing or performances weren't good then I think it's a bigger problem.

"If you look at the points total and understand performances have been better than that - we have to turn those performances into results, that goes without saying and got spoken about after the game.

"We can't perform to 98 per cent, we must perform to 99 or 100 per cent and win the game."

Asked if he was confident about turning around the run of results, Ricketts said: "I'll ask you, you saw the game.

"It was a very good performance, individual errors have cost us the game.

"We've not come here and put in a bad performance, we've given an excellent performance against a good side and nullified them to very little and looked very dangerous."

Town remain 22nd in League One with just eight points from 12 games but find themselves four points from the nearest teams above them.

Their league record, dating back to last season which ended prematurely due to the pandemic, reads three wins from 26.

The boss said: "We need more points. Performance-levels have been better than that. Like today, today was excellent, we just can't legislate for poor goals given away and we should've been given more penalties.

"We haven't come here and been rolled over two, three, four nil and been a team not looking on the front foot.

"If we came away with a draw we'd be disappointed, let alone nothing.

"We'll maintain those levels, cut out the individual errors and win that game at worst 1-0 or two or three nil with correct decisions."

Referee Robinson awarded an early foul for Mark McGuinness' foul on Shaun Whalley but Ricketts was left seething with rage after a foul from the same defending on Pugh was ignored shortly after.

Late substitute Barnett also drew a tackle in the box from ex-Town man Toto Nsiala that went unpunished. Paul Lambert's hosts also had their share of spot-kick appeals.

Ricketts said of the incidents: "I don't think the frustration started at the end, I think it started at the start. We had three stonewall penalties. We got given one. As simple as that.

"I know they were penalties, 100 per cent, no questions asked. Ninety-eight per cent of the game was very good.

"The game plan was carried out excellently, we should've had three penalties. The two goals we gave away are very, very, very poor. You can't give goals away like that. You can't hide from that - but we should've had three penalties.

"And their winning goal, I'd like to see if that's offside again because I'd like to see.

"The referee gave a reason for the second penalty (on Pugh) that I'd never heard before, saying their player had gone to ground and our player turned into him.

"But their player went to ground because our player chopped (past) him.

"We gave two very, very poor goals away but for 98 per cent we were excellent. I think Ipswich were very lucky to win the game."