Steve Cotterill challenges Nathanael Ogbeta to be better for Shrewsbury

Ogbeta has endured a testing few weeks and Shrewsbury boss Cotterill admits he is having to consider the young star’s place in the side as Town head to Portsmouth tomorrow evening.

The former Manchester City left-back, who was linked with a move to Peterborough throughout the summer, was left out of the season opener against Burton before two starts in central midfield – a role he was keen to try – against Lincoln and Morecambe.

But Ogbeta, 20, struggled to get in the game in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at the Shrimps and his clumsy foul in the first half handed Morecambe a penalty and the chance to get ahead.

The boss admitted he feels there could be something ‘in Ogbeta’s head’, possibly lingering from speculation, which is keeping him below the high levels he set last season, where he won the young player of the season award after checking in from City in January.

Asked about Ogbeta’s role in midfield, Cotterill said: “With Nathanael, the two games he’s had in there (midfield), I haven’t been overly pleased, if I’m brutally honest.

“I think there’s been a little bit of I don’t think he’s been as good this season, since the speculation about him has been out there, I definitely don’t think he’s been that.

“So there’s definitely something there, perhaps in his head or whatever like that, but you can’t do anything about that. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who’s in for who, if they don’t perform they won’t be in the team.

“That’s probably where it is with him at the moment.”

Striker Rekeil Pyke, meanwhile, was handed a first league start since Cotterill’s appointment last November – ahead of new loan recruit Sam Cosgrove – at Morecambe.

Cotterill admitted injuries had prevented him from starting Pyke early on in his Town reign before saying he did not see enough in video clips from training while off ill to warrant the forward a start.

The Shrews boss, whose side are bottom having lost both of their opening league games without scoring, feels his side need to ‘toughen up’.

He added: “At the moment we need to lick our wounds from this a little bit and try to sort out the position we are in the table.

“It’s very early days, there are small margins before all of these things.

“But at the moment the margins are not dropping on our side, which means what we have to do is work even harder and become even more determined, that’s what we’ve got to become.

“The group has got to, I think in my eyes, probably toughen up a little bit. They’re getting on well but they’ve got to be a little bit tougher.

“Maybe that’s because they look around and they haven’t got Ethan (Ebanks-Landell) around, who’s been pretty much a mainstay of the defence, we haven’t got Aaron Pierre up to speed where we would like him, but we can’t do too much more training with him with all the games around.

“That’ll all take time and unfold as the season goes on, we’re disappointed because we’ve been beaten but you have to rehabilitate very quickly for a training session leading to another important game.”