Graham Turner wants to make Shrews a fortress

The Shrews sign off their campaign with back-to-back home appearances against Oldham tonight and in Saturday's finale with Portsmouth.

Town's stellar unbeaten run on home turf traversed two campaigns and culminated in them winning automatic promotion from League Two in April 2012.

They started life at the higher level impressively with a 1-0 success over Preston and a draw with early front-runners Tranmere

But Town have never been able to match that impregnability since their 34-game sequence was ended by a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Scunthorpe last September.

Since that setback they have managed just six wins in 18 games in front of their own fans.

Turner wants them to start to remedy that against Oldham tonight in a game he insists will neither be about experimenting nor winding down.

He said: "We want the supporters to go away feeling a bit more confident we can deal with life in League One.

"Whatever league you are playing in your home ground has got to be a fortress and ours hasn't been in the second-half of the season.

"We had a record of 34 games at home without defeat then, from Scunthorpe onwards, results have been hard to come by.

"So we want to finish on a high and we've got two home matches now, starting with Oldham."

Their hard-earned point at Colchester last Saturday guaranteed League One status and should give Turner's men the licence to play without fear.

They could still climb to 15th place if they can see off the Latics and already-relegated Pompey in Saturday's finale.

But Turner hopes some of them will be motivated not only by personal pride, but by the need to secure their futures and stake their claims for places next season.

He said: "It's nice to be absolutely safe with a points cushion, but we hae got to see if we can push on and amass some more points.

"There's no such thing as a nothing game. From a players' point of view they've got to put on performances. There's contracts to consider as well as pride.

"We want to finish as high up the table as we can. And with one or two of the younger players in the side I am sure the supporters will get behind them."

Oldham are also safe from the drop after conjuring three wins on the bounce, one of which was a notable 1-0 success over Yeovil.

That game saw new Latics boss Lee Johnson thwarting his father Gary's automatic promotion ambitions.

Turner said: "Oldham were worse off than us in terms of their league position, although they had games in hand,.

"But Lee has imposed himself on the club and they have had some crucial wins to secure their safety.

"I spoke to Lee a month before he was appointed. He was coming back down from Scotland and he was looking for a club as a player.

"I have known him from his Yeovil and Bristol City days and he had a good pedigree as a player. But it was quite a surprise when he was appointed as Oldham manager.

"However, he will always have someone to ask for advice and it's nice to see some younger men given an opportunity in management."

For former Latics men Joe Jacobson and Rob Purdie, there will be added spice as they face a former club at which neither endured particularly satisfactory times.

Purdie was released after failing to play at first-team level during his two-year stay, while Jacobson left for Accrington on loan after being put on the transfer list.

But if captain Matt Richards is rested again then the Welshman could face his former employer proudly wearing the Town arm-band.

Jacobson said: "It was a great honour for the gaffer to pick me at Colchester. I think I was the oldest player out, and hopefully I repaid him with my performance.

"The season's not over and although we can go into the games and relax a little bit, we know Oldham are on a high after winning games, so its going to be a tough night."