Shrewsbury Town boss Steve Cotterill: Dan Udoh will get his reward
Steve Cotterill has told tireless Shrewsbury striker Daniel Udoh his time in front of goal will come as the boss keeps his Town ranks grounded following a stunning win at Hull.
Town upset the League One form book with a 1-0 victory at the leaders, a first league win under the new manager's leadership which ensures he remains unbeaten in three games.
Charlie Daniels' first-half goal was enough for the visitors who ended a run of 10 league games without a win with just their second of the season and Town were full value for the points with an extremely impressive display across the board.
Striker Udoh created the winner and put in a tireless performance, with Cotterill admitting he singled the frontman out for praise in the dressing room at full-time.
"I thought his appreciation for the team was tremendous," Cotterill said of Udoh. "Him and Shaun Whalley. But I felt Shaun wasn't quite getting his second wind, he did an incredible amount of work.
"When Dan has been doing a lot of the pinning, strength work against defenders, Shaun has been buzzing in and behind him. That might be more tiring for Shaun.
"I thought Dan played like a mature striker for somebody so young. The worst part about it for Dan Udoh was that he didn't score. That was the worst part.
"I said to the strikers that once they work their socks off they must get their own rewards. Dan Udoh will get his own rewards in another game when he doesn't work as hard as he did today, that's sometimes how it falls."
Town climbed one place to 22nd by beating the League One leaders, cutting the gap to safety from five points to two, with a trip to second-placed Lincoln City to come tomorrow.
A daunting run of fixtures remain ahead for Cotterill's men and the boss is keen to keep a lid on celebrations after the eye-catching win.
"I hope so. You never know," when asked if the victory could prove a platform to build from. "I've been in these situations before. You get a result and if you go into the next game and get beat it's almost like you're back to square one.
"What I would say is that along the way we'll get bumps in the road, we're not a top six team, not yet, we're not up there.
"The teams in the upper echelons of the league – we beat Hull City today, they are top – they are a better side than us, that's why they are top. The fact we've won is just three points."
