“Not here for failure” - Gavin Cowan dismisses relegation safety-net claims at Shrewsbury Town

Cowan was appointed by League Two strugglers Shrewsbury on Thursday, with former Town favourite Dave Edwards named as his assistant alongside ex-Salop youth player Jamie Haynes.

The 44-year-old arrives from non-league Brackley Town, whom he led to the National League, with Salop currently sitting 21st in the table, two points clear of the relegation zone. And he dismissed claims that he is a safety net for relegation.

“I'm not here for any sort of failure,” he insisted, speaking to the media for the first time on Thursday afternoon. 

“This is a different move from the club because it's about more than occupations. 

“Myself, Dave, who's probably the biggest Salopian that I know, he actually calls me the surrogate Salopian, I've got Jamie Haynes who's been a player here as an apprentice, there’s a lot of connections to the club. There's a lot of love.

“Twenty years ago, the club paid far too much money for me to come here and play. Although it was relatively short-lived, it was somewhere where I've resided in, and it's really for the want of the county and wanting to be in and around it. 

“Going down isn't success for me. My contract is written based on me staying in the league. 

“For anyone who's got any questions around whether this was a move to accommodate that, it's not even in the thinking.

“If we want to prolong this, if we want to be successful here, we have to stay in the league.”

Cowan is well known in Shropshire for his playing spells with Salop and AFC Telford United. He began his managerial career at the New Bucks Head in 2018 before going on to secure Brackley’s first-ever promotion to the National League. 

He now faces the immediate task of steering Shrewsbury away from relegation, with the club having lost six of their last seven league matches.

Setting out his short-term priorities, Cowan added: “We need to understand the group. We need to get wins on the football pitch. 

“We're not here for anything other than to make sure we stay in the league. Success and legacy.

“It's really important that we understand the players, the characters, how they play, what they do. We need to work that out very quickly. 

“Going into the Barnet game on Saturday is going to be a huge game for us at home.

“We just really need all the fans behind us. We need the hierarchy, the playing and the management staff all united with the fans. 

“I understand there's a lot of water under the bridge at the moment with fans being disgruntled and a lot going on around the club. 

“But I'm just urging everyone for the here and now just to really pull together, swim with the tide. That's the only way football clubs are successful.

“We've got 19 wars to go to now and know they'll be with us all the way.”