Graham Turner has told his players to “cash in on the hard work we’ve done on the road” as Shrewsbury Town prepare for a home double-header they hope will see them consolidate their place in the League Two promotion spots.
Last weekend’s battling 1-1 draw at Stevenage was Town’s eighth away game in their last 11 matches in all competitions, with boss Turner now welcoming a return to the Greenhous Meadow for the first time in three weeks.
Graham Coughlan.
Town put their unbeaten home record for this season on the line against Southend United on Saturday (3pm) before Turner’s former club Hereford United head up the A49 for a local derby on Tuesday (7.45pm).
“Of the last 11, we’ve had eight away from home and that’s obviously disproportionate,” said Turner.
“We’ve generally done okay and, although I’m disappointed we’re out of the FA Cup, we’ve maintained a reasonable level in the league. To be third at this stage, with that sequence of games, is a decent effort from the players.
“It’s now coming to a tricky time of the season where you get upsets. You look sometimes at the tables and think ‘that result should happen here, they’ll win there or they’ll beat them’ and sometimes you get upsets.
“Even at the top level it happens when you get Sunderland winning at Chelsea.
“What we’ve got to do now after the sequence of away games we’ve had is make sure we don’t slip up at home. This is where we’ve got to cash in on the hard work we’ve done on the road.”
Turner knows Town will start as favourites to see off both Paul Sturrock’s Southend and lowly Hereford, but he’s warning against any complacency. “Therein lies the danger, the expectation of everybody, even the players at times,” he stressed.
“Hereford are having a revival and have put in spirited performances at a number of places. They’ve been unbeaten in quite a number of games, certainly since Jamie Pitman took over.
“Southend have got a lot of good players and we’ve got to make sure we stay right on top of our game. Southend had a difficult situation in the close season when they had a transfer embargo. We kept reading they had signed people on a pre-contract agreement until the embargo was lifted.
“I think they signed something in the nature of 13 or 14 players and it takes a lot of time with those sort of changes to gel a team together. Paul has got a lot of experience and knows what the game’s about and he will pull it round there.
“But we’ve just got to make sure both of those sides go home from here with nothing.”
Turner added winger Lionel Ainsworth was again expected to be sidelined this weekend owing to a groin complaint but there’s a possibility right back David Raven could return to the squad after missing the last three matches.
The boss also revealed loan star Exodus Geohaghon sat out training earlier this week owing to a knee injury. “We’re hoping he’s going to be fit for the weekend but we’ve got Ian Sharps back in full training now so we’ve got a more than adequate replacement to come in,” he said.
Turner also disclosed striker Matt Harrold, a former Southend player, was pushing strongly for a return to the starting XI.
“It was nice to see him score again at Stevenage,” said Turner. “He worked hard and made a difference when he came on at half time, so he’s very much in contention for this weekend.”
Southend, who could include former Town skipper Graham Coughlan, also the reserve team coach at Roots Hall, at the heart of their defence, played 120 minutes on Tuesday night before bowing out of the FA Cup on penalties in a first round replay at home to Macclesfield.
by Stuart Dunn