“Turned a corner” - Sam Stubbs reflects on Shrewsbury Town's turnaround and what's ahead

Sam Stubbs hopes Shrewsbury Town have “turned a corner” after a difficult period and can build on a promising start under boss Gavin Cowan.

Stubbs has played a key part in helping Salop secure their Football League status, scoring winners against Chesterfield and Tranmere Rovers.

The defender had been frozen out under the previous management but immediately returned to action after Cowan arrived in late January, featuring in eight of the last nine matches.

The 27-year-old, who is from Liverpool, became Town’s third signing last summer ahead of this season, joining on a two-year deal, and has reflected on his experiences this year.

Asked how much he has enjoyed his time at Shrewsbury, Stubbs said: “I love my job, it's brilliant. I like the area, it's a little bit different to Liverpool, it's a lot slower, quieter pace.

“The one thing I'd say about the Football Club, it's got really good people. It's got people that genuinely care about the club.

“It's got individuals that want the best for the club. I think that always helps when you come into a place of work where people are collectively striving towards something.

“Hopefully we have turned a little bit of a corner and got things in place where we can collectively move towards a goal.

“I'd look at the start of the year - and looking back, we didn't have that. For whatever reason, people can make their own minds up about that.

“I think it was a little bit here, there, everywhere. Whereas now, there is a feeling of, okay, this is what we are, this is the plan, this is how we're going to get there.

“You certainly give yourself a good chance to do that when you have that in place.”

The 27-year-old, who is the son of former Bolton Wanderers, Celtic and Everton defender Alan Stubbs, arrived in Shrewsbury after a loan spell at Cheltenham Town from Bradford City.

Town had won just five games in League Two when Cowan and his staff arrived in late January, but he has overseen a rise up the standings and secured safety with three games to spare.

While Stubbs admits it is easy to shift focus towards next season - before which he expects significant change at the club - he says he is focused on the present.

“As an individual, you try and stay very present in the moment,” he added.

“It's easy to look at next year. We're going to have a big turnover in players contractually-wise. So it's going to be different.

“It would be a little bit, not naive, but wishful thinking to be thinking of X, Y, Z for next year.

“It's going to be that much of a change that the way we deal with that as a club and individually will determine how much success we have.

“But I'm trying to practice being present a little bit as an individual - really enjoying the moment.

“It's a nice moment moving forward that you can go and just play football, and enjoy football for what it is.

“Obviously, you want the three points and the win, but not really having that pressure of having to stress about what will be next year and whether you'll be in the league or not, hopefully we can try and take that positive energy into games.”