“Old head on young shoulders” - Shrewsbury Town teen Isaac England impresses Gavin Cowan on return

Gavin Cowan says Shrewsbury Town have a “player on our hands” in academy graduate Isaac England.

The 17-year-old made his first appearance under Cowan - and his first since New Year’s Day - when he came on as a second-half substitute against Bromley in midweek.

The midfielder has struggled with persistent ankle problems since Cowan’s arrival but has now returned to contention.

England produced one of Salop’s few efforts on goal during his brief cameo, catching the eye of his manager.

“I think Isaac's a real cultured footballer,” he said. “He's a bit of an old head on young shoulders.

“We're speaking about what we want to do with him in the summer and make him really dynamic. We feel like we've got a real player on our hands.

“When you see him come on - really brave. We speak about missing a pass and he did it really well.

“He tried to be really brave and perhaps try and hurt them a little bit more. And that's what we were asking for.

“That particular pass went out of play, but we're asking them to be brave. They're going to make mistakes. They’re calculated risks.

England, who joined Salop’s pre-academy at the age of five before officially signing at eight, made his professional debut against Northampton Town on Easter Monday last year.

While his appearance at Bromley was his first since January 1, the teenager featured regularly in the first half of the season and has made 18 appearances in all competitions this campaign.

“I was proud to see him come on, Taylor Perry as well,” Cowan continued.

“The challenge for Taylor is when we're starting, we want to see those levels of intensity and second balls.

“Tonight we need to have more quality. We know that. We know that the players need to be able to be more efficient in what it is that we're trying to do and be braver as well.”

“I don't want this culture around the football club that we're getting used to losing.

“I understand that it's been a long time where the club has been a bit of a descendancy, but it needs to change somewhere.

“We won't be accepting the mentality of coming to the top of the league and expecting to lose or it's okay. We only lost 2-1.

“There was nothing in the game. I felt like we could have got something. But if we'd have just been that bit braver tonight, I feel like mentally we could have just stepped forward and gone and got something from the game.”