Michael Appleton urges Shrewsbury Town to fix away woes after MK Dons defeat
Michael Appleton demanded Shrewsbury Town “address” and improve their away record following a heavy defeat at MK Dons.
Salop suffered their heaviest League Two loss of the season last Saturday, going down 5-1 at Stadium MK.
Shrewsbury have now taken just six points from 13 away league matches - the worst record in the division - and are winless on the road in nine games.
Asked whether their away form is becoming a concern, boss Appleton said: “It is. It is very strange and different to what I have been used to throughout my career as a manager.
“My away record has been pretty good to be fair, if not better than my home record, so work that one out.
“We have to address it and be better and we have an opportunity to do that at Cambridge.
“When we lose, we lose, and that has to stop very quickly.
"You can go a goal behind early in any game of football, but you can give yourself a chance by staying in the game.
“To concede the second in the way we did was frustrating, but we can’t give the opposition the chance to do that.”
The defeat was Salop’s third consecutive league loss away from home, with Appleton admitting the pressure on him had increased.
“I have said it a million times already, the reality is in every single game there is pressure,” he added.
“If you lose 5-1, then of course, yes.”
Appleton’s side conceded three first-half goals - two inside the opening 11 minutes - during an afternoon to forget, as MK Dons completed their first league double over Shrewsbury since the 2016/17 season.
The result leaves Salop two points clear of the relegation zone ahead of their trip to Cambridge United tomorrow.
Tom Sang scored a curling long-range effort on his return from injury to give the travelling supporters something to cheer, while debutant Temple Ojinnaka also caught the eye.
“It was a good finish,” Appleton continued. “He looked lively when he came on.
“I thought the substitutes in general looked lively, gave us a bit of impetus.
“When you are 3-0 down at half-time and the game is getting away from you, you are not getting back into it, you start thinking about what Tuesday might look like.
“There are a couple who have given me food for thought.”
Ojinnaka featured a day after signing on loan from Wolves, and Appleton believes the 20-year-old offers Salop something different.
“You can see what he is about, he is physical, reasonably athletic as well. He will give us a presence in the middle of the park.
“He is someone we are glad we have got. That type of player, between now and the end of the season, there will be games where we will really need him.”
