'Bravery was the difference' - Appleton backs Shrewsbury Town's progress to earn them more wins
"Bravery" was the word on Michael Appleton's lips as he backed Shrewsbury Town to turn recent progress into more wins and move clear of danger.
Salop showed resilience to fight back for a third consecutive draw at League Two leaders Walsall last Saturday, earning just their sixth away point of the season.
The result extended Shrewsbury's unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions and left them two points clear of the relegation zone, with only two defeats in their last 10 league outings.
Appleton felt the courage his players showed in possession was the key difference against the division's pacesetters.
"We were brave, that was the difference," he said. "We were braver, we took the ball, we passed the ball forward with purpose.
"I'm a big fan of how hard you work, the luckier you become, the braver you are, the luckier you become. If you keep doing it and keep repeating it and having the courage to keep doing it, I'm a big believer that eventually it'll become a habit and it becomes easier."
While acknowledging that results away from home have been harder to come by this season, Appleton believes Salop's performance at Walsall underlined clear progress.
He added: "I'm encouraged. From an attitude point of view, an application point of view, I can't ask for any more. I do think there's more wins in this team, I do think that.
"I'd say it again, I think it's going to be big, we need to go in front in games, to make sure that we give ourselves the best opportunity and try and avoid going behind in games and making it difficult for ourselves.
"So, I can only ask for the spirit to be right, the application, all that type of stuff, and then, it's down to the players to show a little bit of quality.
"If we play like we've done today, not just second half, first half, we'll win more games in football than we'll lose.
"There was lots of aspects to the game when we went a goal behind that was good. It wasn't just the fact that we were patient and we were passing it. We still stayed on the press, we still tried to be aggressive, but we had to.
"Obviously, previously, we can't shy away from it. That hasn't happened and it cost us. But not conceding that second goal, obviously, is always huge because it takes a moment to score a goal."
Shrewsbury now turn their attention to Saturday’s home clash with high-flying Chesterfield, who are unbeaten in their last four away league matches.
