Boss makes Byron Pendleton admission after Shrewsbury Town loan move

Gavin Cowan believes a loan will help Byron Pendleton find his feet after admitting the Shrewsbury Town youngster has struggled to settle.

Pendleton rejoined Brackley Town in the National League North this week, returning to the club where he impressed on loan last season under Cowan.

The defender reunited with Cowan at Salop in the summer, joining from Birmingham City, but has made just three cup appearances so far this season.

The Salop boss believes his former club Brackley is the ideal environment for the 20-year-old to gain regular game time and build confidence.

He said: “(He has) huge potential, bags of ability. And we’ve just not seen it from him at the moment. It’s taken him a bit of time just to transition and settle.

“With the National League, we can call them back as and when. And Brackley is an environment I know.

“The club is an exceptional football club, so they’ll look after him. The management there will make sure that he gets all of the right messages.

“It won’t the same, but similar to what we do in terms of messages and formation. That was a big thing for me as well, will he be playing in a formation that - not every week, depending on what they want to do - but it’s definitely something that they know well.

“So he’ll be looked after and I’ll be updated regularly. And he’s someone who we feel can come back and just go straight into the team.”

Pendleton attracted interest from several National League clubs, but Cowan insisted the decision was not driven by the need for regular football rather than the level of competition.

The defender will continue training with Shrewsbury while gaining valuable minutes with Brackley.

“What we’re lacking from him a little bit is a little bit of confidence,” Cowan added.

“He’s a young lad and he’s been at Birmingham forever. He comes into a whole new first team environment, and it’s going to take him a bit of time.

“It’s taking him a little bit longer than what we’d hoped. But it’s definitely there, and he will come good, I’m sure.

“We weren’t really bothered about the level. We had quite a few from the National League (who were interested).

“We just wanted to make sure he was playing, because it is about games. He’ll still be training with us day to day because Brackley is part time. It’s just the best of everything.

“Byron is more than capable of National League football and that would have been an easy fix. But we just wanted to make sure that he was with us every day and that he was getting some game time. He’s in a good environment, so it’s a win for everyone.”