Town boss out to beat pal
Shrewsbury Town chief Gary Peters will put aside his personal friendship with Hartlepool boss Danny Wilson to focus on bringing another three points back to Shropshire. Peters and Wilson have known each other for many years and are regular golfing partners at their summer retreats in Spain.
But Peters insists that will count for nothing when the two men square up at Hartlepool's Victoria Ground tomorrow for their League Two clash.
"We go back a long way and we get on great," said the Town boss. "We played against each other in the Simod Cup final at Wembley when I was at Reading and he was at Luton.
"I go to Spain in the summer and Danny goes to the same part so we see a bit of each other out there then.
"He's a nice fella and a good bloke and it will be interesting seeing him in the next dugout tomorrow.
"They've got off to a slow start but Danny didn't go there until close to the start of the season so he didn't have much time to work.
"He's signed three or four now and they've started winning games so I expect them to be up there soon with the three other relegated teams - Swindon, MK Dons and Walsall."
Shrewsbury have defender Sagi Burton fit and available once again after missing out on the 3-0 win at Stockport County on Tuesday evening.
And that will give Peters something of a selection headache, as his stand-in centre-back Kelvin Langmead has impressed in the last two games, while Danny Hall has also drawn praise from his boss in outings at right-back and in the middle.
He is giving his side the best possible preparation by making the long trip to the north-east today for a rare overnight stop ahead of the game.
"We only probably do it three or four times in a season and this is one of them," added Peters.
"We're doing it for this one, Darlington and maybe Torquay - what we'd call the extremes when we're going a long way.
"The chairman (Roland Wycherley) is good as gold.
"We run a good business so we don't try and get ourselves into debt but he's a reasonable man, and when needs must we will go and stay away from home.
"I run this club as if I was spending my own money. If I go and ask for something it's because we need it, not just because I want it."
By Chris Hudson
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