"It's huge" - Gavin Cowan urges Shrewsbury Town unity before pivotal Barrow showdown
Gavin Cowan has issued a rallying call for confidence and “togetherness” ahead of Shrewsbury Town’s crucial clash with fellow strugglers Barrow.
Salop, who have won just one of their last 13 League Two matches, welcome the Bluebirds in a fixture that could prove pivotal in the battle to retain their Football League status.
Barrow arrive having lost their last five league games and sit one point and one place above Shrewsbury in 21st.
Town currently sit two points clear of the relegation zone following defeat at Colchester United last Saturday, after which boss Cowan remained upbeat.
He said: “It's huge, we know that. But I'm even more buoyant.
“I get it. People are emotional about the result, and absolutely, that's what we're here for.
“We've had a week. The progression and the buy-in from the players has been second to none, they've really invested in it.
”I think they really believe in it. After today (Colchester) they'll believe in it more.
“If they can just bring a bit of confidence, scrape themselves off the floor.
“We keep saying we need characters, we need togetherness, and a lot of successful changing rooms have that as a common denominator.”
Defeat at Colchester was Salop’s fifth successive away defeat. They return to home soil seeking the comfort of the Meadow, where they have picked up 17 of their 23 points this season.
With Town sitting just two points clear of both Harrogate Town and Newport County below them, Cowan made no attempt to downplay the significance of the contest.
He added: “We know how big the game's going to be. We need to recover the players now, ready for that big game.
“If we can just get that little bit of quality in the turnover and in the final third, dominate the big moments.
“We could have won the game on a very different day. But, individual errors and maybe not dominating those big moments hurt us.”
