Gavin Cowan makes Shrewsbury Town scoring demand after tough start

Gavin Cowan says Shrewsbury Town must improve at both ends of the pitch to turn around their tough start to the season.

Salop have endured a miserable start to the new League Two campaign, with just one win from their opening five games. They have scored only twice while conceding 10.

Cowan knows those numbers must change quickly if Town are to avoid another season of struggle.

Asked whether he believes there is enough in the squad to score consistently, the Town boss said: “There has to be, there has to be.

“In the boxes, that’s where we’re lacking and that’s where it really matters.

“The players have to get the first contacts. They have to get their numbers right, in terms of being three across the width of the goal, numbers down the sides, two on the second phase, vertical recoveries.

“They know all of this. This is not anything different to what we were doing when we went six wins in seven. If anything, we’re doubling down on the messages. Nothing’s changed.

“You can dress it up as much as you want, you’ve got to keep the ball out of one net and you’ve got to score in the other. And that’s where we’re lacking.”

After finishing as the second-lowest scorers in League Two last season, improving their attacking output was a priority for Town, who bolstered their options during the summer transfer window.

However, new recruits including Josh Davison, Joe Gbode and Isaac Fletcher have yet to make a significant impact in front of goal.

Cowan continued: “I see Isaac Fletcher scoring eight or nine every training session. Josh Davison - eight to nine every training session. They’re insatiable, desperate to score goals. And that’s great, but you need to be doing it in games.

“Midfielders need to be chipping in and centre-halves, wing-backs at the back post.

“A lot of my players in previous teams, wing-backs have been sometimes the highest goal scorers, just because they’re constantly arriving at that far post.

“So, yeah, I think the players know that we need to threaten the goal a lot more.”