Jamie Tolley column: I told Gavin Cowan to clear space on the mantelpiece - that award was coming

I had told Gavin to make some room on the mantelpiece because it was coming - and his Manager of the Month award is thoroughly deserved.

Massive congratulations to Gavin on a huge accolade. It’s obviously a big moment for himself and for his staff.

I think it’s a real reflection of the hard work they’ve put in since coming into the football club. Like Gavin said himself, it’s a pity it can’t be something like a 'Club of the Month' award, because everyone has chipped in.

There has been a lot of hard work on the training ground and on matchdays. That award is a real testament to them, and I’m sure that all the hours they’ve spent getting the lads up to speed and fully focused has been worth it. 

I told Gavin a few weeks ago to make some room on the mantelpiece because it would be on its way. He and his staff have led a fantastic revival and a real rise up the standings.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Shrewsbury last Saturday with the defeat to Cheltenham Town - and you could sense that.

You could sense that from Gavin in the interview and also when I was chatting to him after the game.

It’s the curse of the Manager of the Month award. It tends to happen a lot in football that you receive an award and then the following week you get beaten. The curse of it has struck again.

But ultimately there was a lot of frustration and disappointment. I felt that a number of players were not quite at it, not quite at the level that we’ve become used to.

There is a level of expectation now with the results the team has been getting. They’ve been on such a brilliant run of form and, while there are always going to be dips at times, it was disappointing at the weekend that they weren’t quite at the level we’ve become accustomed to.

It is remarkable how much football can change within eight to 10 days. You pick up a few suspensions, with Josh Ruffels being one and Taylor Perry picking up his 10th booking, so he now misses two games.

Then you look at the injury table and there are a number of players on it. You’ve got a few players coming back into the fold as well, who perhaps aren’t quite up to the level yet.

It’s remarkable how quickly things can thin out over just a few days. So it’s about getting the squad together and getting everyone fighting fit.

Salop’s trip to Bristol Rovers presents another tough game and another difficult task. But I’m sure it’s one that the staff will have the boys fired up for.

They will probably strip things back and go through the strategy they are going to use.

They’ll expect a reaction because ultimately it wasn’t good enough.

I think they touched on that after the game - there wasn’t anyone who really ignited the performance and got it going.

So they’ll be looking for the players to be on the front foot, to be aggressive and, ultimately, to try and right the wrongs of Saturday.

They’ve shown brilliant bounce-back ability before, so now it’s time for them to do it again. Roll up the sleeves, go away from home and put in another good performance.

It has been a magnificent turnaround away from home. We used to look at the tables and the stats and we were right down the bottom, not picking up any points away from home. Then all of a sudden they started coming around like buses.

So if they can travel away from home with no fear whatsoever, go and enjoy it, and play with a bit of anger to right the wrongs of Saturday, then that can make a big difference.

I’m sure that Gavin, Dave and Jamie will be firing the boys up and making sure they get back on task and start putting more points on the board.