'Like a 12-pointer!' - Michael Appleton salutes Shrewsbury Town's nerve as pressure win lifts them clear

Taylor Perry's sublime second-half strike provided Salop with their first League Two victory since mid-November.

The triumph lifted Appleton’s side to 20th in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone.

"There’s no doubt about it, it's massive. I joked about it previously, people talk about big six-pointers, that was more like a nine to 12-pointer because of the consequences of the game. 

"We are delighted. The players have come up trumps now on three or four occasions when the heat and pressure has been on, and they've come on the right side of results, which I'm delighted for them."

The victory lifted Salop two places in the table, four points clear of Harrogate Town and five clear of Newport County in the bottom two.  

Asked how important the growing points gap is to his squad, Appleton added: "Psychologically there's no doubt about it. 

"I think it's a good thing that the players and the fans and everyone sees that, but we just have to focus on what we're doing. 

"We had a meeting before the Wolves game, and we knew how many games that we felt that we needed to win to make sure that we secure our position at this level.

"We're going to try really hard to focus on that and nothing else, because we do believe that if we do that, then we'll be more than safe."

New recruits Iwan Morgan and Trey Ogunsuyi made their home debuts for Salop. Morgan impressed on the left flank, testing Harrogate’s defence and goalkeeper Henry Gray on several occasions, while Ogunsuyi also went close.

Appleton believes Salop look like a very different side with the teenage duo in the team.

He said: "Iwan was excellent. They struggled to deal with him when he was coming in. I was just hoping that one of them would hit the back of the net. 

"You can see the qualities that he's got. He's going to be a decent addition to us. 

"We've seen glimpses of what Trey can bring to the table too. They bring a different dimension to us. 

"We just looked at a completely different team. That's what I want going forward. 

"We've gone with a back four, it's a formation that I'm much more comfortable with. You might ask, well, why have you not been doing that most weeks? But we had three centre-backs who came in the summer. 

"There certainly wasn't an obligation to play them, but if you're not playing them, then what do you do? 

"We will be very different going forward. I think we'll cause teams more problems and hopefully score a lot more goals."