Why Michael Appleton will thank former Shrewsbury boss Micky Mellon in clash at Oldham
Michael Appleton admitted he will thank one of his Shrewsbury Town predecessors Micky Mellon on Saturday for one of the biggest early lessons of his managerial career.
The duo have shared the dugout on several occasions over lengthy managerial careers and will do so at Boundary Park on Saturday as Mellon's newly-promoted Oldham welcome Town.
And Appleton clearly recalls one of their early face-offs, when he was in charge of Oxford United, in a League Two Boxing Day clash that resulted in a comfortable 2-0 for Kassam Stadium visitors Shrewsbury.
Appleton labelled a 2-0 victory for Mellon's promotion-winners Town in 2014 as a "humbling day" but a lesson he was extremely grateful for that brought clarity in what the current Shrews boss described as an "out-of-body experience" and "lightbulb moment".
"I always remember my first year at Oxford and we faced Shrewsbury on Boxing Day," Appleton said.
"The first six months were tough for me there before I had the opportunity to recruit and bring certain type of players into the group and before I was allowed to get rid of certain players out of the club.
