Loan star opens up on strain of 'disappointing' Shrewsbury Town season

The 33-year-old has made 22 League One starts since joining on a season-long loan from Port Vale on deadline day last August.

But his stay was almost cut short midway through the campaign before he was persuaded to stay by then boss Gareth Ainsworth.

The latter then quit the club last month and Town's relegation from League One could be confirmed before they kick-off their Good Friday home fixture against Wigan.

For Ojo it will be a second successive demotion from the third tier, after he was part of the Vale squad which went down 12 months ago.

He said: "I'd like to look back in a couple of weeks when the season's done and the emotions are kind of settled, but I have to say something now, it's been a disappointing season, three different managers, three different play styles. 

“I had the option to go back in January and I was keen on going back really, just because the vibe around the place wasn't really that great and I'm an emotional human being.

"Stuff like not being happy going to work really affects me in what I do performance-wise.

"But then someone like the previous gaffer really lifted me up and I was buzzing to come back in, really, so I stayed. 

“Then something like the other week happens again (Ainsworth leaving), and you're like, well, come on mate, how bad can a season go? 

“But yeah, it's just part of it. If I zoom out eventually when I'm 95 years old, it's not even one per cent of those years."

Ojo suggested he has preferred the playing style under interim boss Michael Appleton, who became the club’s third manager of the season when he replaced the departed Ainsworth.

The former Belgium under-21 international, who missed last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Lincoln City with a shoulder injury, admitted it had been tough not to become disillusioned with the daily grind.

He explained: "It's super difficult because if I look at myself, I am a footballer but I love the Monday to Friday more than the actual Saturday. 

“I love the grind during the week, the work, the hard work and the passing drills, but I wasn't even enjoying that just because we weren't really doing that because that's not how we were set up on the weekend.

"To then wake up and drive in every morning 45 minutes to an hour, it's just tough and you just see yourself training not like you want to be training. 

“When that's what you're about as a footballer and a human being, like hard work and discipline and the little things and you just see that fading away it's tough at times then."

He added: "I came in to play football really and we haven't really done that up until now. I hope we keep doing it because we've got nothing to lose.”