The Captain Pugwash soundtrack Shrewsbury Town will be desperate to avoid

The Captain Pugwash theme tune was hardly the soundtrack Shrewsbury Town wanted to hear four times on the Fylde Coast 10 days ago.

The familiar goal anthem provided an unwelcome soundtrack to a miserable night.

Shrewsbury now return to Fleetwood tomorrow seeking a very different outcome, but Cowan has two increasingly familiar frustrations to address: a sense that his side are being punished before half-time, and an inability to predict which version of Shrewsbury will turn up.

It has been a testing start to the campaign and, just as they did last weekend after the Fleetwood drubbing, Salop need a response. This time, however, they must respond to another chastening defeat, with Rochdale adding to Cowan’s concerns in midweek.

The Shrewsbury boss knows the Captain Pugwash theme cannot become a recurring soundtrack and is demanding a different outcome.

He said: “It has to be (different). But I’m not sure which Town team is going to turn up. But if it’s the right team, then we’ll be right in the game.

“We’re six games into the season with the EFL Cup. Hopefully that won’t be for the course of the season. I don’t want it to be the narrative for us, but as it stands at the moment, how erratic have we been?

“Brilliant game, poor game, decent game - don’t get the result, poor game, brilliant game, poor game. I’m struggling to keep up.”

And one of the major problems is that once Town fall behind, they have shown little sign of finding a way back. They trailed at half-time at Tranmere Rovers, were three goals down at Fleetwood and went in two behind at Rochdale on Tuesday.

“It’s annoying because the whole conversation was, stay in the game, let them enjoy the ball, but don’t be passive, be aggressive,” Cowan said.

“We did that for a period of time. And then one mistake, one lack of bravery, we passed the ball backwards when we should go forwards, and then we struggled to tackle people. Then it goes from there.”

Michael Golding and Kian McMahon-Brown made their debuts at Rochdale and both earned praise from their manager, potentially putting them in line for first starts on the Fylde Coast.

Cowan’s criticism of Town’s failure to take their chances could also prompt a change in attack, while midfield is another area where he may shuffle the pack.

Arkell Jude-Boyd will hope to force his way back in after being left out again at Rochdale, although he did come on at half-time.

There is also a question mark over Josh Ruffels after he was withdrawn with an injury. If he is unavailable, Luca Hoole could maybe return to the central three, allowing Jude-Boyd to operate on the flank.

Cowan also showed at Rochdale that he is willing to abandon his usual back three or five, switching to a four-man defence. A change of shape could now be considered as he looks for a way to unsettle Fleetwood and spark the response he wants.

“In this league, you do have to be fluent through the formations,” Cowan said.

“We’ve worked on that pre-season. But on Tuesday, make no mistake, it wasn't a conscious decision that we wanted to do that. I’d love to say I’ve come up with this tactic, but it wasn’t the case. We were forced into it and we did it because we needed to find out about our players.”