Midweek focus: Why Shrewsbury Town’s first League Two win can’t be a one-off

Shrewsbury Town’s first League Two victory of the season cannot be a one-off, defender Luca Hoole has warned.

Hoole, who knows from his previous two seasons with Salop that there can be no getting carried away after one result, believes Saturday’s win over Salford City can be the springboard for Town to find their form.

After stuttering out of the blocks, Salop now have the chance to build momentum when they visit Rochdale, who have also endured a difficult start to the season.

Town must now take their confidence on the road and back up their first victory by turning up the heat again.

“It’s about building on this and making sure it’s not just a one-off performance,” said defender Hoole.

“We need to build on this, go into Tuesday, rest, recover and be ready to perform like that again. Hopefully take three points back home.

“Every game is a tough game in this league, not just the Salfords. We need to go to every team and think they’ve got their strengths. We’ve got our strengths and we need to make sure that we’re on it for every game.”

Before their clash with Salford, Shrewsbury had won each of their previous two league games against sides from Greater Manchester - the same number of victories as in their previous 26 attempts combined.

Now they have made it three, and tonight they will look to make it four.

Saturday’s win was the perfect response to the midweek thrashing at Fleetwood Town, but Town must now prove it was more than just a reaction.

Hoole says his team-mates never wavered from the plan despite the difficult start - and believes there is plenty more to come.

“It hasn’t been the start we’ve wanted, but we’ve all stuck together,” the 24-year-old said.

“We haven’t gone away from the plan, we’ve stuck to it. Hopefully this is the start of something and how we know we can perform and, if anything, go again.

“I think we can still have a lot more quality on the ball, still create more chances, still score more goals.

“We don’t want every game to be holding on to a 1-0 lead, we want to go on and do more. But yeah, hopefully this is definitely the start of something positive.”

There had been uncertainty over Tom Anderson’s future at Shrewsbury this summer after the central defender was placed on the transfer list.

But with no move having materialised and the transfer window closing, Anderson could once again line up for Town at Rochdale.

The defender made an outstanding contribution to Saturday’s victory, putting himself firmly in the frame to remain a key part of Cowan’s plans. With Sam Stubbs still sidelined, another start looks likely.

For that matter, an unchanged team could be on the cards.

Town can still improve in the final third and offer more of a threat inside the opposition box, but there is a strong argument for sticking with a winning side.

Last Tuesday on the Fylde Coast was a disaster for Salop. Now they have the chance to make this midweek trip a far more positive one.

“These players here just showed the levels that they can go,” boss Cowan said after Town’s weekend win.

“Credit to the players - they’ll stick together, they’ll work hard and what they’ve shown is that they’re really connected to what it is that we’re trying to do.”