Boss Paul Simpson hopes Shrewsbury Town will reap the rewards of having a settled side as the tension builds ahead of Saturday’s crucial final home match of the season with Lincoln City.
It’s a game Town have to win to stay on course for a play-off spot having been replaced in the top seven on goal difference by Dagenham – their opponents on the last day of the season the following weekend – who beat leaders Brentford on Tuesday in a match watched by Simpson.
With the stakes so high, Simpson knows there is no room for error and he’s expecting to name an unchanged side for the fourth successive game.
“It doesn’t half make a difference,” he said. “There have been times over the season when I’ve changed it to get the right system for games. We’ve also been disrupted by a couple of suspensions but more so because we’ve had horrendous injuries this year.
“It’s nice to be able to go in and say ‘same XI’ and hopefully that will be the case again this weekend.”
The only fitness doubt surrounds striker Omer Riza who suffered a hip injury within minutes of coming on as a sub for his debut at Rotherham last weekend (see page 79).
In any case, a place on the bench seems the best Turkish B international Riza can hope for with Simpson hailing the recent contribution up front of Nick Chadwick alongside Grant Holt. “The lads who have gone in there have done well on occasions, the likes of Walker and Hibbert,” said Simpson.
“Ashikodi’s had little glimpses but you can trust Chaddy for his work rate. He’s tireless the way he goes and closes down and puts people under pressure.
“Sometimes he looks like he hasn’t got the finesse but he’s a good foil for Holty and the fact he’s chipped in with a couple of goals has helped.”
Simpson knows it’s vital Town gain their 15th home win of the season against Lincoln and end a run of three consecutive draws at the Prostar.
“At this stage of the season they’re all huge games,” he said. “They have been for I don’t know how long.
“We’ve had a good season at home and we want to finish it off properly. If we hadn’t won at Rotherham, we could have been out of it by now, but we’re still definitely involved. We’ve got to give ourselves the best chance.”
Simpson stressed the fans also have a big part to play in Town’s play-off push and he’s hoping another bumper crowd will flock to the Prostar.
“We’ve had good crowds all season,” he said. “The last one was over 6,000 and I would expect another good one as there’s so much to play for. Hopefully they’ll come and back us and the players will respond.”
As for the challenge likely to be posed by Lincoln, who have won on each of their last five visits to Shrewsbury, Simpson added: “They’re a very big, physical side with six or seven six-footers.
“They’ll have players who are out of contract and playing for their careers. I would like to think I know the players well enough at this stage that we’ll be professional enough and will go out and do the job properly.”
Town’s final day trip to Dagenham has been made all- ticket. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis but fans must be registered on the club’s system and have a supporter number which can be found on season tickets.
