Fleetwood Town boss Matt Lawlor full of praise for Gavin Cowan ahead of Shrewsbury Town clash

Fleetwood Town boss Matt Lawlor has praised the work of Gavin Cowan at Shrewsbury Town as he urged his side to “attack the life out of it” this weekend.

Both clubs have experienced managerial changes in recent months. At Fleetwood, Lawlor was appointed permanent manager last month after initially stepping in on an interim basis following Pete Wild’s departure, and leading an eight-game unbeaten run.

Fleetwood currently sit 14th in League Two with 59 points, leaving their remaining fixtures as dead rubbers in terms of league position. However, like Cowan at Shrewsbury, Lawlor is already turning his attention to next season, with squad planning underway and several players out of contract this summer.

Speaking ahead of the game, Lawlor was full of admiration for Cowan’s impact at Salop.

“He’s done an amazing job, when he first came in he had that six-game winning streak,” he said.

“What he has made them do is be really, really organised and really strong.

“They have some good players, some amazing players at the back. (Will) Boyle from Wrexham, (Ismeal) Kabia on the wing who is rapid, Iwan Morgan who plays everywhere, he’s got a long throw and takes set-pieces.

“His background is very interesting, obviously a non-league background.

“He played here. (Nathan) Pond knows him and says he is a good guy. They’ll be organised, and a really robust team to play against.

“We know what is coming. We’ve watched them play really well in the last three games.

“So I’m expecting a really tough afternoon, really physical on a good pitch. We need to move the ball quickly and attack the life out of it.”

Fleetwood have won just seven of their 22 away matches this season. They head into the clash unbeaten in their last two games, with a win over Accrington Stanley and a draw against Chesterfield, but have managed just one away win in their last five. However, across their last 10 away fixtures they have suffered only three defeats.