'Understand frustrations' - Shrewsbury Town CEO Liam Dooley on tough season and Gavin Cowan appointment
Shrewsbury Town chief executive Liam Dooley admits it has been a "tough" period in his role and says he understands the frustrations of supporters.
However, he hopes the appointment of Gavin Cowan as head coach can spark a turnaround as Salop look to retain their Football League status.
Following Cowan's appointment, Dooley revealed a rigorous succession planning process had identified him as the right fit for the role, with the club keen to appoint someone with strong ties to the club.
Salop currently sit 22nd in League Two, three points clear of the relegation zone, after dropping down from League One last season.
"It's always going to be tough, results on the pitch dictate everything you do," CEO Dooley admitted.
"What we do off the pitch doesn't change that much in terms of we strive to be a club for more than 90 minutes.
"We do some fantastic things with the foundation, we've got the academy absolutely flying, we're doing so many things, all the things that we would do normally with record commercial numbers this season, despite what's happened on the pitch.
"If we win a few more matches and all those things are going off, I'm answering that question as things are great.
"But because results haven't gone that way, we're in the same situation now that we found ourselves in last year where we're not winning games and it makes every day difficult.
"We're aware that fans are disappointed and frustrated but what we try and do is give it the best chance and turn that around and we think by appointing Gav, that gives us the best chance of doing that between now and the end of the season."
Cowan arrives at the Meadow following a successful spell at Brackley Town, whom he led to a historic promotion to the National League and left 15th in the division, despite operating as a part-time club.
Outlining expectations for Cowan at Shrewsbury, Dooley added: "First of all, there's a very here and now responsibility, and that's to make sure that we remain in this division. That's what we set out to achieve this season.
"Performances and results dictate where we are and that's why we're in the position that we are in, and we want to arrest that as soon as possible.
"The short-term goal is making sure we secure our divisional status and after that, it's about the summer, about building to not be in the situation again next year and hopefully making strides in a positive direction."
The Gavin Cowan era began with a draw against Barnet at the Meadow last weekend. At his unveiling, Dooley praised Cowan's positivity and desire to succeed, and urged supporters to get behind the new head coach.
"He uses the phrase 'we’ve got to go to war', and it's that kind of motivation we hear when we speak to him that's why we've hired him.
"Four of the next five games are at home, we want the fans to come down, we want the fans to support us.
"We understand people have got frustrations but the 11 players that are on the pitch at any given time and the subs that come on to impact that need your support.
"The Meadow produces a fantastic atmosphere, we just need that to be all positive or as positive as it can be and get behind the lads."