Aaron Wilbraham: Shrewsbury must earn right to win
Aaron Wilbraham insisted Shrewsbury Town have no right to win at out-of-sorts basement boys Rochdale tonight just because their hosts prop up the League One table.
Rock-bottom Rochdale are out for a first Spotland home victory in 17 attempts tonight, a barren run dating back to early October.
Town, meanwhile, have their own sticky spell to end having gone winless in three games last week. They have not won at Rochdale in 13 visits.
The Dale are without a win in eight games but are only three points adrift of safety in a tight bottom of the League One table. Town assistant Wilbraham, who played for Rochdale last year before retiring, says the visitors must not read into the table.
“We can’t go there just because a team is bottom of the league and expect to win the game,” Wilbraham said. “We’ve got to go there in the right frame of mind and earn the win we want.
“You don’t want to give a team low on confidence any confidence in any game.”
He added: “Me being there over the last couple of seasons, so obviously I know a little bit about them, can help the lads. But they play some good football, they are in a bit of a false position in the league but they’ve found themselves there so they’ve got to fight to get out.”
Wilbraham revealed Town loan attacking star Harry Chapman yesterday apologised to his team-mates for ‘spitting his dummy out’ in frustration at being substituted in the defeat to Fleetwood on Saturday.
Shrews boss Steve Cotterill, meanwhile, continues to recover from Covid-pneumonia in Bristol Royal Infirmary Hospital. His assistant said he is ‘on the right road’.
The EFL have revealed the starting date for the 2021/22 League One season will be Saturday, August 7.
