Shrewsbury Town “too big” to be a non-league club says Dave Edwards after securing safety

Dave Edwards has expressed his pride at helping to retain boyhood club Shrewsbury Town’s Football League status.

Pontesbury-born Edwards stepped into his first coaching role at the club as Gavin Cowan’s joint assistant manager, alongside Jamie Haynes.

When the trio took charge in late January, Salop were just two points clear of the League Two relegation zone, facing the prospect of back-to-back relegations and a drop out of the EFL.

However, after winning half of their 16 matches in charge, Town are now safe and well clear of the drop zone.

“We're too big a football club to be in non-league,” Edwards told the Shropshire Star.

“I think we're too big a football club to even be in League Two, I see us as a League One club as a minimum and we've got to try and build to get back there.

“It's going to be hard, obviously, but we've managed to stop the rot a little bit and start to turn around what had been happening before us.

“I'm really, really proud of that, with the help of the chairman Roland Wycherley and Liam Dooley as well.

“I wouldn't say it was a risk for them to appoint Gav, but it was a really bold decision and they deserve an awful amount of credit for doing that because I know there's a lot of people who didn't think it was right at the time.

“I think having people who are so close to the football club has really helped and Gav is definitely that, like myself, like Jamie.”

Edwards knows well what relegation from the Football League would mean for the club.

After coming through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut on the final day of the 2002/03 season as Town were relegated to non-league.

He followed that with 17 appearances the following season as Salop returned to the EFL at the first attempt.

Edwards went on to make more than 200 appearances for the club across two spells and has remained a regular at the Meadow since retiring.

“We're too big a football club to be at that end of the table and looking at the National League,” he continued.

“But while I think that, it does happen. It has happen to teams who are a similar size to us - and once you are down there then it is increasingly difficult to bounce back quickly.

“That’s why it was so important to get to safety as soon as possible. I'm so glad we could get it turned around.”