Aaron Wilbraham: Fitness is not an issue for Shrewsbury Town
Stand-in boss Aaron Wilbraham insist no Shrewsbury Town players have used a loss of fitness following their lengthy Covid-19 absence as an excuse since returning.
Town's first league action of 2021 brought a narrow 1-0 defeat at Sunderland as an unbeaten league run dating back to Steve Cotterill's late November appointment came to an end.
With the manager still watching on from a distance, unable to attend as he recovers from the virus, Town struggled to get going early on at the Stadium of Light and went down to an 18th-minute winner.
But the visitors were the better side for large parts of the contest's final hour and merited an equaliser. Wilbraham, standing in for Cotterill on the sidelines, insists the squad are not talking about fatigue after the three-week break between matches, in which several went down ill.
"Any football club that has had that kind of scenario - and there's been a lot of clubs in that position - it's going to affect things, you can't hide away from that," said Wilbraham when asked what impact the break had on fitness and momentum for Town, who were eight games unbeaten prior to the outbreak.
"But I don't think anyone in our group has used it as an excuse. I've not heard anything mentioned fitness-wise.
"If you look at last Tuesday at how hard we worked and what a performance it was, considering the circumstances – and Saturday – I don't think there's question marks over fitness or anything.
"None of them have used it as an excuse. But obviously it would affect peoples' wellbeing and fitness.
"The lads have come in and being unbelievable."
Players around the country have suffered long-term affects of contracting Covid but Wilbraham confirmed no players are currently feeling after affects.
Midfielder David Davis, the recent free transfer signing from Birmingham, was unable to make his Shrewsbury debut as he is self isolating having come into contact with a positive case.
Wilbraham confirmed that a deal to bring in a left wing-back to replace Charlie Daniels is 'in the pipeline', but it is thought that a move for Luton's Brendan Galloway has broken out.
Shrewsbury now have a free week ahead of next Saturday's home clash against Peterborough, their first Montgomery Waters Meadow fixture of the year, after tomorrow's trip to Burton was postponed following positive cases in the Brewers camp.
