Shrewsbury Town: Gareth Ainsworth reveals why Salop have improved defensively
Shrewsbury Town have been really poor from a defensive point of view this season.
They do not have the worst defensive record in the League One table, though. That unfortunate statistic lies with Crawley Town - who have conceded 64 times in their 34 league games.
One of the improvements Ainsworth has been able to make since his arrival in November is making them more solid.
When he came in Shrewsbury were bottom, and they had taken eight points from 15 third-tier fixtures.
But that was not the only worrying statistic as they had also managed to concede 27 goals during that same time - with a goal difference of -14.
Initially, he made little impact on their defensive woes. Despite a win against promotion-chasing Birmingham City, they conceded 12 times in his first four games.
But since then, he has managed to solve that problem, and in the 16 games since Salop have conceded 19 league goals - they are 16th in the form table - with a goal difference of -4.
"Our defending and the way we're playing at the moment, Stevenage had no shots on target,” Ainsworth said. "The last three games, I think there's two there that you can say we've really, we've really shut up shop and not let teams have chances against us.
"We're not conceding as much. One of my key things when I came in was to sure up this defence. So, a clean sheet for me is absolutely brilliant. I love that, it's the Holy Grail.”
In his first four games, Ainsworth went with a back four, but since then he has moved to a back five.
That has been the formula which has made his side much harder to score against, and he says that is because they have closed the gaps and worked on certain fundamentals.
"I tried a couple of systems when I came in,” he continued. "Systems that I'd employed in the past, and they didn't really work.
"The 4-1 at Cambridge, the 4-1 against Wycombe. It was time then for me to revamp it.
"The five at the back has worked really well for us - it's no secret.
"I thought there were gaps. There was a little bit of a lack of understanding.
"I think that getting them closer together, you know, that was important for me. The little fundamentals like one-on-one defending, stopping crosses and winning first contacts.
"These are all little bits I thought we could improve, and we've worked hard on it.
"And do you know what, when it is been Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. It has been tough to get them out on the pitch and go through that.
"After the Stevenage game, we had that full week to prepare them.
"Of course, we had the red card, but a full week is always great for a manager. You get principles back in. We are still learning, they're still learning."
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