Gavin Cowan tells Shrewsbury Town players he'll be their "safety net" in tough times
Boss Gavin Cowan told his Shrewsbury Town players he will be their "safety net" if things go wrong.
Cowan's arrival marked a new era for a Salop side determined to steady their season and maintain their Football League status.
During his first few weeks in charge, he has learned not just about the squad's strengths on the pitch, but also the personalities and character traits that make the team tick. And he is happy to shoulder the responsibility if things do not go to plan.
"We've needed to almost relax them a little bit, get them to come out of their shell," Cowan said.
"There's a few people who are like slugs with salt on them. They're really uptight and understandably it's a real tough time, serious business, and we don't want to take anything away from that.
"You need to come and enjoy what you're doing. There needs to be a lot of togetherness.
"There's a real seriousness to this, there's a lot of details, a lot of professionalism, but equally you need to feel relaxed and confident in what you're doing.
"We're asking the players to go out and be brave and be courageous in what they're doing and commit to what it is that I'm asking them to do.
"I'm trying to take the weight off them a little bit and letting them know if they do what we ask them to do, they'll see success.
"I said to them, I'll be your safety net if it goes wrong, it's on me.
"If they're doing what I'm asking them to do, then I can take the weight from them. If they don't, then I can't help them.
"There's been a lot of buy-in. I feel like there's a renewed desire to go on and win football matches.
"I think a lot of the time, people think footballers are robots, they're not. They're human beings and we need to make sure that we get them aspiring to be the best version of themselves, and that's all we can ask."
