Defensive rock Kelvin Langmead has stressed the importance of everyone at Shrewsbury Town sticking together to get the club heading in the right direction once again.
Langmead admits recent results – Town have won just twice in a dozen games – have been disappointing and Shrewsbury now find themselves in 13th position, 11 points adrift of the automatic promotion spots and seven short of the play-off places.
But Langmead, who is hopeful Town can get back on track at home to Jamie Tolley’s Macclesfield on Saturday, insists it’s vital everyone connected with the club now puts on a united front.
“The more matches you lose, of course your confidence isn’t going to be as high as it is if you’re winning matches, but as long as we stick together and keep doing the right things then I’m sure we’ll push on and do our best to put it right,” said Langmead.
“We were disappointed at Rotherham last Saturday but we’ve got to turn that round and use it in our favour. We’re obviously hurting as a team at the moment and we’re not doing as well as we want to be doing.
“But we can’t be too negative, we’ve got to be positive, and use that to our advantage.
“We’re a young side that wants to improve and wants to do the right things. As long as we keep trying to do that then I’m sure we’ll come through this bad spell.
“We all want to aim in the right direction and aim for the same things. As long as we keep trying to improve and strive to go forward I’m sure we’ll be all right.”
Langmead, who grabbed a stoppage time winner in last season’s home game with Macclesfield, agreed the return of ex-Town midfielder Tolley, a man who played over 200 games for the club, would add a little extra spice to this weekend’s game.
“Jamie was a good servant to the club and was here for many years,” he said. “I’m sure the Shrewsbury fans will enjoy giving him a bit of stick but we’re not worried too much about an old player returning. We’ve just got to concentrate on what we’re doing.”
Langmead added the return to fitness of Ben Davies after six months out was some welcome good news.
Davies continued his comeback by playing 90 minutes for the reserves against Stoke earlier this week and boss Gary Peters now has to decide whether he’s ready to start in the first team on Saturday.
“Ben’s a great lad and he’s worked extremely hard to get to where he is now,” said Langmead. “I’m sure he’ll be eager to impress like the rest of us will be.
“He’s been out for a long time and was unfortunate with his injury but it’s a big boost to him and the club to have him back.”
Ben Herd is available for selection once more after serving a one-match ban.
See page 111 of the Shrewsbury Chronicle, November 29, 2007 for more Town news including an interview with defender Luke Jones.