Shrewsbury Town ponder making changes after a first significant setback

OK, the boss may have been forced to switch from a back three to back four having lost both wing-backs in the January transfer window, but in terms of personnel, Town have kept things as tight as possible, writes Lewis Cox.

They have been reasonably fortuitous with injuries and January brought in a few new additions – how well they have done – but the manager, even while in hospital away from his troops, has sought familiarity and consistency.

But, possibly for one of the first times in their Town reign, the management team may well ponder changes as struggling AFC Wimbledon visit tonight.

Salop looked jaded in defeat at Bristol Rovers on Saturday in a performance that, by and large, was unrecognisable to that of a side Cotterill has produced.

Was that entirely down to tiredness? Who knows? Joey Barton’s new manager bounce at the Memorial Stadium played a part, among other factors.

Wilbraham admitted the players were worthy of another start given the three-match unbeaten run they had put together. Much of the XI had shown previously they were capable of putting disappointment in the shape of a home defeat to Crewe, behind them.

The Town boss will know far better than to simply make a reactionary move from one ‘bad day at the office’, but Cotterill may be tempted into both personnel and system changes.

Privately, Cotterill will know what system he wants to implement in the long-term at Montgomery Waters Meadow and summer recruitment will be built around that.

But the Shrews boss has squad players knocking at the door for a chance from the off. David Davis, Dave Edwards and Daniel Udoh have been influential from the bench recently.

Perhaps, though, the recently tried and trusted side will be afforded the chance to right Saturday’s wrongs. They have certainly earned the chance.

It also remains to be seen as to whether Cotterill sticks with the 4-3-3 that has brought success since Town returned from their Covid-19 break in January, or opts to revert to the 3-5-2 he implemented immediately after walking through the door, which brought around some immense results before Christmas.

Wilbraham has admitted that the boss is a fan of both formations, but it was, however, the 3-5-2 that Cotterill’s Bristol City made their own amid a record-breaking storm to the League One title not so long ago.

Matthew Pennington’s swift return to fitness as a third available centre-half offers Shrews the chance to revert to a back three, and could push the exciting Nathanael Ogbeta further forward into a wing-back role. There would then be a question to ponder at right wing-back, with Donald Love sidelined for a month with a groin injury – Ryan Sears and Josh Daniels are different but available options.

Either way, it is a welcome decision to have. Aaron Pierre and Brad Walker’s impending return will provide further flexibility. The latter is nearing a return.

After delivering the update that Cotterill had returned to hospital in Bristol, Wilbraham said of freshening up the side: “The lads have gone full pelt and been tremendous, the fact that’s the first time I felt I didn’t quite recognise them is credit to the lads.

“When you’re winning games, no-one really talks about rotation and stuff, why would you change a winning team? So it’s whether you do after losing one game or keep it the same.

“Everyone else in the league is dealing with Saturday-Tuesday games so players have to be strong enough to deal with that.

“But when we were on our run no-one was talking about changing the team so you can’t let one defeat affect you.

“It’s something (changes) we’ve still got to decide on, it’s such a short turnaround, you have to be careful, we have to see where the lads are today before naming the team.”