Shrewsbury Town debrief: Decisions looming, away day win, Marquis' record, Appleton’s reward

The win at Oakwell was just their eighth in the third-tier this campaign, and it ended their 15-match streak thanks to the 2-1 triumph.

This weekend’s clash against Crawley will finally see the end of the dead rubbers, which have plagued Shrewsbury fans since the loss against Burton in Gareth Ainsworth’s last game in charge. 

After the victory in South Yorkshire, here are some talking points. 

Tangible reward for Michael Appleton’s style 

The victory was the 49-year-old’s first since he arrived in Shropshire roughly a month ago. 

It has certainly been possible to see what he has been trying to do after he was made head coach. The former Lincoln man is trying to instil an identity, something that makes his team recognisable. 

There have been other games where it has been clear to see. The first half of the loss at home to Reading. The clash at Lincoln. 

But ultimately, and Appleton will be aware of this, results will be what he is judged on. The game in South Yorkshire finally saw the boss get some reward for the work he has clearly been putting in on the training ground. 

Decisions are looming over players’ futures 

It is always the way, but the final game of the season is always followed by the released and retained list. 

Shrewsbury have 13 players under contract next season, for the rest, it will be intriguing to see what decisions are made. 

After a season such as this one, there might be a temptation is to rip everything up and start again, but with that many players still contracted to the club, that will not be straightforward. 

If there are players who should still be at the club for the next 12 months, and Shrews want to move them on, they will have to do some serious negotiating to do over the coming weeks and months. 

Away day joy 

Before the weekend, Salop had won just two games on the road this campaign. The first came in a 5-3 victory at Crawley at the start of October, and the other was a 2-1 win at Rotherham at the start of February. That victory saw Town register back-to-back triumphs for the first time in almost two years. 

So there has been little to celebrate for the supporters who have braved the English motorways over the course of the last nine months. 

Just under 400 Salopians would have enjoyed that one at the weekend. 

John Marquis’ record is impressive

The former Portsmouth striker will finish the campaign with at least 12 goals, and he will have the chance to add to that this weekend. 

Given how poor the team have been this term, that must be regarded as a successful campaign. 

He has bagged more than double his nearest team-mate in his 33 starts, and he could have had even more had he not missed several penalties - you simply cannot argue with his record.