Brad Friedel reveals his big Championship dream for Shrewsbury Town

New sporting director Brad Friedel has set his sights on helping Shrewsbury Town climb into the Championship.

The former Premier League goalkeeper has arrived with an exclusive, data-driven recruitment programme and will become the day-to-day face of the club’s football operations.

Friedel, who will oversee the footballing side and be a regular presence at the training ground, is hungry for success as a new era begins under Salop’s American ownership.

“Everything's possible, you’ve got to dream,” he said.

“We want to come in and take this step by step. We want to help Gavin and his staff to put a competitive team on the pitch that can be possible promotion contenders.

“That is what we want to help with, whether that is this season or next season. If we can achieve if, fantastic, that’s what our aim is. If we are fortunate enough to get up to League One, then we will try to do it again.

“If we get up to the Championship, that becomes another formidable task. Look at what’s going on with Wrexham for example, it’s tough.

“We want to baby step this a little. At first, stability, structure, make sure that we are providing the resources needed for the first team staff and players to be successful. Provide the resources for the academy to be successful. And then see where we go.

“We definitely want to go up the football pyramid, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to achieve that.”

Salop’s rivals across the border, Wrexham, have enjoyed a rise through the divisions under their Hollywood owners.

Now, Miami businessman Scott Davidson and his ownership group have their own ambitions to take Town up the football pyramid.

The new owners bring financial backing, but Friedel insists success is not simply about how much money a club spends, but how wisely it is invested.

“A lot of people in football want to talk about money. It’s about who you hire, who you sign, not always how much you sign,” he added.

“Look at Manchester United, they pay incredibly large salaries, and they are in the bottom three. Look at Spurs in the last two seasons, they pay incredible salaries and were 17th. Just spending the money doesn’t always get you there.

“I believe Coventry was in the bottom third on the wage bill and got promoted to the Premier League. I don’t think Bromley’s wage bill was very big last season and they got promoted.

“You have to be able to set a structure in place and stick to it. Stick to your philosophies. Use your data, try to sign better players than you have, create a better working environment, a lot of those things in football get thrown in the bin by people because they always want to talk about money. There’s so many cases out there where people have thrown a lot of money at it, and it has not gone well.

“The resources will be there, but spending it wisely and spending it on the right players, we hope will also be there and probably more important than the amount.”

Shrewsbury have endured a difficult few years, suffering relegation from League One before fighting to preserve their Football League status last season.

But Friedel hopes the next five years will see the club back in the third tier and pushing for an even bigger prize.

“I hope by then we have got into League One and are knocking on the door of the Championship,” he said.

“If you asked what would be my Christmas present for a five-year period, that would be it. With a lot of hard work and dedication, that is something that can be achievable. But nothing is a given in this game.

“If you look over that period, yes, we definitely want to get into League One. And once we get into League One we will definitely endeavour to get into the Championship.”