Gavin Cowan press conference: Shrewsbury Town boss demands focus before Tranmere Rovers clash

Remaining focused on the task at hand with a “steely mentality” has been boss Gavin Cowan’s key message to his Shrewsbury Town players.

Town welcome Tranmere Rovers on Friday as they look to return to winning ways after four consecutive defeats and take a step closer to securing their Football League status.

They currently sit nine points clear of the League Two relegation zone, with Tranmere one place below them and four points above the drop. A win would provide Town with greater breathing space heading into the final five games.

Boss Cowan said: “It's a big game, it’s a big game. But we don't want to put too much on it. We have a saying that we want to be cool, calm, calculated, and cold.

“We want to try and just remain on a level, because I think sometimes if you get too emotional, like we did against Crewe, the players were so up for the game, that we perhaps went past that point of a steady mentality.

“I know we went 2-0 down early, but I think the players were so desperate to get out there and win the game that we probably got too emotional with it.

“I want to remain focused is the word. Focused is making sure that we've got all of our ducks in line.

“We know exactly what it is that we've got to go out and do and we go out and do it with a steely mentality. That's what the players have been told this week.”

Shrewsbury will be without midfielder Tom Sang, who is expected to spend several weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Cowan added there are no other major injury concerns ahead of the clash.