Jon Taylor sets target as Shrewsbury Town fight to beat drop

Taylor registered his first strike on home soil at the Greenhous Meadow this season with the equaliser in last weekend's dramatic fightback win over Bradford City.

It was his seventh goal of a campaign which sees him top of Town's scoring chart – with all six of his previous goals this term coming in away matches.

The highlight was his classy double at Notts County last month which set up Mike Jackson's first victory as manager.

The Liverpudlian winger wants to keep chipping in from out wide as Town get ready for tomorrow's short trip to Walsall, but is quick to stress his focus is totally on Shrewsbury beating the drop as opposed to any personal milestones.

"I believe I can get double figures but if I don't get any more goals between now and the end of the season and we stay up, that's the main thing," said Taylor, the club's longest-serving player.

"I'll go out there and try to score for the team to help us win games, but if I don't and someone else scores, that's fine by me just as long as we get the points we need."

Taylor was on the bench for the recent trips to Wolves and Colchester, but returned to the starting XI against Bradford and kept his place for Tuesday's 0-0 draw at fellow strugglers Carlisle.

That was a night when the plaudits for Town's point belonged to the club's defensive players, particularly his close pal Connor Goldson who was outstanding at the back.

Taylor said: "Connor's playing excellently. He defended really well at Carlisle again and had it not been for the lads at the back and Joe Anyon in goal, we wouldn't have got a point.

"Jacko said they kept us in it and that's what we need as a team with everyone doing their bit. I was a bit disappointed with how we played, but we'll take a point.

"Four points from the last two games is not a bad return, but we could have won at Carlisle if we had played as well as we can do. The other results went OK for us, which was handy."

Taylor insists confidence remains high with the players responding to manager Jackson's positive approach.

"Everyone's definitely confident and Jacko's got loads of belief in us," he said. "He was telling us at half-time at Carlisle that we needed to do a lot more, and he was telling us because he knows we can do it. We need to put it in for him – and we will do."

Taylor was part of the Town team swept aside 3-0 at Walsall in the FA Cup in November and lost again the following month when the Saddlers picked won at the Meadow thanks to Milan Lalkovic's strike.

Now he wants to make it third time lucky with Town a point adrift of safety but also just a point off the bottom of the table.

He said: "This game means a lot to the fans and a lot to the club, so it means a lot to me. I thrive on stuff like that where I know the fans want us to put one over on them. It's a big thing for them, bragging rights and whatever."

Town have lost their last six games at Walsall, the most recent victory coming in the 1993-94 promotion season when Dean Spink's goal secured three points.