John Marquis willing to shoulder pressure at Shrewsbury Town

Town’s top scorer has recently returned to action following a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, during which boss Gavin Cowan praised his impact and leadership off the pitch.

After a difficult first half of the campaign, Salop have climbed the table to secure their safety with three games to spare.

When asked how he has dealt with external pressure this season, Marquis said: “At times, when you're the captain of a football club and you're the centre-forward, there is pressure on you, and that's pressure that I want.

“I do believe sometimes you can become a bit of a victim of your own success and sometimes what you've done in previous, people tend to think you can do that everywhere you go.

“I'm not naive enough - I know that there have been times when my performances haven't been good enough this season. But I don't think anyone can ever question my hard work or my endeavour or what I'm trying to do for the team.

“Yes, there might be times where I haven't taken chances or gone a few games without scoring. I can take that criticism because that's fair criticism.

“But I think people within football and people that watch football understand probably where we are at the moment.

“We are all trying our best to make sure we can put in good performances. I am willing to take that on my shoulders to take the pressure away from other players.”

Marquis is Salop’s top scorer with six goals in all competitions this season. He also finished last season as the club’s leading marksman with 12 goals in his first campaign in Shropshire.

“With my experience, you can't never get too high and you can never get too low,” he continued.

“If you're willing to keep putting in the hours and the dedication to be a professional athlete, to make sure you're doing everything you can to be as well prepared as you can be going into the next game, I don't think people can criticise you on one-offs.

“If you know that your preparation has been right - you can look at yourself in the mirror every day and say that you've given everything. As a man, that's what I like to do.”