"I want the good days" - John Marquis confident unity will drive Shrewsbury Town's turnaround

The Salop skipper is refusing to back down from the fight as Town look to retain their Football League status and climb away from danger in League Two.

Cowan is the fourth head coach Marquis has worked under at Shrewsbury since joining the club in the summer of 2024, but the striker says he is excited by what lies ahead.

"I'm not someone who likes to walk away from a challenge - I see challenges as a good thing," said Marquis on his captain responsibility. 

"It's easy, when the chips are down, to walk away and look after yourself, and protect number one. But I feel like I've got a responsibility, not only to my teammates who I spend a lot of time with, but also to the club.

"We're in a transitional period, we seem to have been stuck in it for a little while. Hopefully we'll come out of that sooner rather than later.

"I want the good days to come back and I want to be part of that moving forward. I'm excited by what's ahead.

"Something I am really looking forward to is three games within a week. All being well, things can look really up by 5.30pm next Saturday. 

"The picture could look very different one way or another. What's gone has gone, but what we can affect is the future."

Salop visit Colchester United today looking to build on last weekend's draw against Barnet in Cowan's first game in charge.

Since then, Cowan has enjoyed a full week on the training pitch to begin implementing his philosophy and style - something Marquis says is centred on unity.

The striker added: "He's made it clear that myself and a few other senior players will have a leadership group, which helps me as a captain to have some other people to bounce ideas off, things that we can improve, and take it back to the manager.

"Some of the younger players find it a little bit uncomfortable knocking on the manager's door if there's an issue, but if they've got people they know they can speak to, and relay those messages back to the gaffer with confidence, then it helps the whole group.

"We're about we're trying to unite everyone now, there's no hierarchy, there's no 'he's the captain or he's 18-years-old, or he's not played'.

"Everyone's in it together, you're only as strong as your weakest person, whether you're the chef, the kitman, or the centre forward, you've all got the same importance.

"We want to bring everyone together and try to put some smiles on faces. It's been a long time coming. It's something that the gaffer really wants to implement. 

"With himself, Dave, and Jamie’s connections to the club, it's a great time to do it. Hopefully there's better days ahead."