Graham Turner has challenged his League Two leaders to maintain their high standards when Shrewsbury Town head to Gillingham on Saturday.
It will be the first meeting between the sides since the Gills beat Town 1-0 at Wembley in the play-off final 15 months ago with a last minute goal from Simeon Jackson who has since moved on to Norwich City.
Boss Turner has been delighted with Town’s efforts in the early weeks of the season and has urged his confident players to keep producing impressive displays.
“Consistency is the byword for success and we’ve set a standard which we now have to stay close to,” said Turner, who knows opposing teams will now see Town as a notable scalp given their flying start to the season.
“I think everyone will acknowledge that you don’t get to the top without being a decent side. Teams and players probably try that little bit extra against what they perceive to be a good side.
“But I just feel we have the ability to open up most defences.”
Defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, who has helped Town keep clean sheets in each of their last three matches, stressed the players were looking forward to every game given their high level of performance.
“Gillingham’s going to be a good one because we’ve got a history with Wembley a few years back,” said the Australian. “They will want to prove a point after dropping down a division again and will want to get back to where they were.
“We’re in a good place at the moment and, while we’ll respect who they are, we know what we’ve got to do. We’ll go with our game plan and hopefully it will be down to them to adjust.
”Cansdell-Sherriff, one of the scorers when Town hammered Gillingham 7-0 two years ago, added: “It’s been a great start to the season and it’s exactly what we wanted. We’ve worked hard and I think the gaffer’s happy with us.
“Our performance in the second half against Rotherham last weekend was a bit disappointing, but these situations happen and you can’t be perfect all the time. It wasn’t our best day but the sign of a good team is you still pull out a good result.
“Collectively as a team I think we’ve been doing really well and I’m really enjoying playing. That was the hardest thing, being out of the team at the start, because I could see the quality and I wanted to be part of that.
“At the moment I am part of it and I feel good. You want to come in to training every day because you enjoy it and the carrot’s dangling when you see what you’re striving for. We’re on our way to achieving what we want to do.”
Turner added keeper Ben Smith, who was not risked in last night’s reserve team match at Tranmere, could be on the subs’ bench at Priestfield against a Gills side still seeking their first league win of the season.
Teenage striker Tom Bradshaw will be available for the trip to Kent as he doesn’t link up with the Wales under-19 squad until Saturday night ahead of Tuesday’s friendly in Liechtenstein.
by Stuart Dunn