‘Miss those times' - Shrewsbury Town boss’ heartfelt FA Cup admission

The FA Cup holds a special place in Gavin Cowan’s heart, and he is determined to create some memories with Shrewsbury Town in the competition.

For Cowan, the magic stretches back to childhood, when cup clashes and the prospect of a big tie would build excitement throughout the week and capture the imagination.

Those are the occasions he wants to experience again, this time from the dugout with Salop.

Shrewsbury have enjoyed some memorable FA Cup moments in recent years, with impressive runs and ties against top-flight opposition.

Cowan has also tasted success in the competition with former club Brackley Town and is now determined to bring more cup memories to Shrewsbury.

Their latest opportunity comes this weekend, as Salop travel to Eastleigh for their first round tie.

“I love it,” Cowan said of the historic competition. “As a kid, I was so nostalgic about it.

“I can remember it like it was yesterday - Crystal Palace beating Liverpool in the semi-final in 1990. And when Liverpool played Everton in 1991. They’re the ones that stick out to me and among a lot of others.

“The FA Cup was probably the biggest competition in the world. I miss the times when we used to have a week leading up to it, a week of preparation - watching Match of the Day, all the stories, everybody in the streets with the bunting of who was going to be supporting who, and obviously the FA Cup songs.

“I’ve been lucky as a player to have a couple of good runs in it. And as a manager as well, I’ve been really fortunate with Brackley to have some particularly good runs. So I’d love to do the same again with our club.”

The cup tie provides a break from League Two action, with Town looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Gillingham after a full week on the training ground.

Cowan believes the extra recovery time will also benefit his players ahead of the long trip south.

He added: “We now go quite a long way to Eastleigh, so it’s good to recover from that. It’s good to have a lot of rest now in the build-up to then be explosive at the back end of the week.”

Shrewsbury have been without Jay Turner-Cooke through suspension and Isaac Fletcher in recent weeks. It remains to be seen whether Turner-Cooke is immediately restored to the side after impressing when breaking into the team.

Jack Price, meanwhile, is edging closer to a return from a hamstring injury, although Cowan admitted the midfielder faced a race against time to be involved.

“It’ll be really close,” Cowan said. “We’re a bit cautious of whether he will make it, and is it one just to give him another week? Because it can’t be rushed, so we’ll see.

“With Price, he brings that energy and that experience. In a game like Gillingham and certainly at Rotherham, I think he probably would have completed about 100 passes.

“I remember him playing for Wolves against Man City and completing about 150 passes. He’s still capable of doing it. We’d like to get to that level.”