Gavin Cowan confident growing belief can power Shrewsbury Town to back-to-back success
Gavin Cowan says belief is growing at Shrewsbury Town as they look to extend their advantage over the League Two relegation zone against Swindon Town.
Following their vital victory over fellow strugglers Barrow, Salop now face a very different test against promotion-chasing opposition at the opposite end of the table.
However, the crucial factor is that the game is at the Meadow, where results have been far more fruitful. Twenty of their 26 points have come on home turf, and confidence will be high after the first win of the Gavin Cowan era.
No team has recorded more home clean sheets in League Two this season than Shrewsbury - a remarkable statistic given Salop have conceded 50 goals overall, one of the highest totals in the division.
Under Cowan, Town have conceded just three goals, one of them a spectacular strike at Colchester United, and the head coach believes performances will continue to improve with time.
Speaking after the Barrow win, he said: "There will be some of the naysayers who don't want to say anything positive. But when you see them week-in, week-out, day-in and day-out in training, they're capable.
"Confidence is a big thing. We've spoken a lot about togetherness. You've got a group of players in there who are desperate to do well.
"The common misconception is that footballers, when it's not going well, they don't care. I don't think I've ever met a footballer that doesn't care.
"But I've definitely met a footballer that hasn't got any confidence. We feel like we've grown in confidence by having a solid base.
"We feel like we've had some evolution through the last three games. We want to carry that on now, we want to keep that on into Swindon.
"I think the players are more than capable. I've got a lot of belief in them. I just want everybody else to have that belief in them, which is difficult because it's been a tough season.
"The players are capable and now they're starting to get a bit of belief."
Town moved two goals ahead in midweek before conceding with 15 minutes remaining, setting up a nervy finish. However, they defended resiliently to withstand the pressure and secure all three points.
Swindon arrive flying high in the table and chasing automatic promotion. There is no doubting the scale of the challenge, yet Salop have responded well to similar tests on home soil this season.
They will hope for a different outcome to the reverse fixture in August, when Swindon netted a 94th-minute winner after Callum Stewart had appeared to earn Town a late point.
Cowan added on his side’s ability to protect their lead: “Great professionalism. We speak about game management. A couple of times when the ball dropped from second phases, we didn’t defend it well enough.
"We spoke about that at half-time. It was disappointing to concede that. But, we were quite comfortable after that. We saw the game out really well.
"Their focus, their concentration, attitude, application. We work around numbers and patterns and they've really bought into it. Tonight is only going to instil a lot more belief and confidence in them."
Having made four changes against Barrow, it's unlikely Cowan will want to change a winning side, although he could be forced to switch things up in attack after John Marquis suffered a knock.
Predicted Shrewsbury Town XI (5-2-1-2): Cox; Kabia, Hoole, Boyle, Ruffels, Berkoe; Sang, Perry; Scully; Lloyd, Morgan
Subs: Brook, Anderson, Stubbs, Benning, Freeman, McDermott, Ogunsuyi.
Swindon Town (3-4-2-1): Ripley; Clarke, Tafazolli, Wright; Snowdon, Nichols, Borland, Olakigbe; Drinan, Scanlon; Palmer
Big match prediction: Draw
