Gavin Cowan admits frustrations but hails “really good” start at Shrewsbury Town
Gavin Cowan hailed a “good foundation” draw to begin his reign at Shrewsbury Town, admitting it was “hard” to hear frustrations over the defensive set-up.
The new Town boss conceded it was not a match he would want to spend his hard-earned money on, but vowed that better performances are to come.
A resilient Salop side absorbed sustained pressure from Barnet to earn a crucial point, moving them three points clear of the League Two danger zone.
Asked if he was hoping for more going forward in the coming games, Cowan said: “Yes, of course.
“I get it. We want to be offensive, especially at home. No one wants to have chances and the excitement more than me.
“I'm a fan. It was hard when I heard a few people disgruntled. It's hard, and I wanted to react in terms of going, right, we're going to get after them.
“But, we had to be professional. We had to do the job.
”People will look back and realise that, you know, there's a process building here. We've now got 18 games.
“That's a really good start. That's a really good foundation to build on.
“In four or five games, if we're that defensive and we have a lack of chances, I get it. But I don't think we will.
“We get a free week to work on it. We need to give the players their energy back.
“We need to build into Colchester. It's a massive game, and we need to get points on the board.”
Cowan made six changes to the Shrewsbury side following the defeat at Cambridge United, including recalls for Sam Stubbs and Mal Benning to the starting XI.
The draw came just two days after Cowan and his coaching staff - including former Salop favourite Dave Edwards and ex-Town youth player Jamie Haynes - took the reins.
“I'm really thankful to the players,” Cowan added. “They deserve a lot of credit.
“Me, Dave and Jamie are hugely thankful for their buy-in. I think now they'll trust us and that we can really kick on.
“The supporters as well, what an ovation, what a welcome. I couldn't be more humbled or prouder.
“Unfortunately, I can't give them their money back. It wasn't a performance I'd particularly want to go and spend all my hard-earned money on.
“But for them to stay behind and give us so much credit for what was a really hard-fought performance really shows that they know their stuff. I'm thankful.”
It was a busy start for Cowan and his staff, who had two late nights preparing for the clash.
“I've been focused, I haven't really taken it in,” Cowan continued.
“It's all been a bit of a whirlwind. I'll sit down with my wife and maybe have a glass of wine.
“But we're back in again on Sunday, me and the staff. They won't be overly happy to hear that, but we've got to hit the ground running. We've got points to get.”
