Ryan Woods grateful to Graham Turner for Shrewsbury Town chance

The 20-year-old was handed his debut by Turner, who resigned yesterday afternoon, as a second-half substitute at home to Oldham Athletic on April 23 last season.

Two further substitute appearances followed before he was given a surprise first-team start on August 24, being drafted in as a makeshift right-back away at Rotherham United.

It proved a masterstroke by Turner and Woods has since established himself firmly as a mainstay in the team, making 24 further appearances so far this season.

Woods' stellar performances have even reportedly attracted interest from scouts for Championship and Premier League clubs.

And asked for his thought about Turner's impact on his career, he said: "He gave me my opportunity in professional football and I would like to thank him for that and wish him all the best in the future."

The Town players found out about Turner's decision to step down following training yesterday.

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Woods added: "Obviously I think everybody is going to be a little bit upset. We found out just after training and I was shocked because I didn't think he would resign.

"But it is football, anything can happen.

"I think we will say our goodbyes later on in the week."

Turner took the decision to depart the Greenhous Meadow on the back of a dismal run of six straight home defeats, culminating in Saturday's demoralising 3-0 loss against Rotherham. The team has also lost nine of their last 13 matches home and away, and Woods admitted that the players also had to take some of the blame for the events of yesterday.

He said: "Of course I think we have all got to take part (of the responsibility for) where we are in the league.

"We are very sorry to see him go."