Steve Cotterill chatted to the media ahead of our final game of the season at Lincoln.
Town travel to Sincil Bank on Sunday looking to top off an excellent season by securing a top 10 finish.
Speaking to the assembled media, Steve discussed Sunday's game and also reflected on all the highs and lows of the 2022/23 campaign.
ON LINCOLN:
"We have got ourselves into a position by winning the other night (against Bristol Rovers) that we have an opportunity to move further up the league.
"We want to do that. We have been in that top 10 for so long this season.
"We know that results need to go right around us, but we have got to do our own job first and foremost.
"Lincoln are a good club. A good team with a good young manager. I like Mark (manager Mark Kennedy), I think they have got some good players there.
"I think he has done a really, really, good job. And I’m looking forward to seeing him.
"We have a good relationship with Lincoln. Jez George who works there, he is their director of football, he is another good guy. So we are looking forward to seeing Lincoln at the weekend."
ON INJURIES:
"I don’t expect Matthew Pennington will play."
ON POTENTIALLY FINISHING IN THE TOP 10:
"It will be a huge achievement. Absolutely huge. It would be great if we can do that.
"Twelve months ago, I said it would be good if we could finish in the top 12 (this season) and everyone said, ‘that will be good.’
"We are there at this moment in time. Anywhere we finish from now on up will be an incredible season really.
"We understand what has gone on for the past six weeks or so. We have played all the top teams with our worst squad available.
"That has been well documented, not only by myself – but by you (the media) as well.
"Everyone knows that. Even the opposition managers after games - they are saying ‘my god you’ve had it all on over the past few weeks’ and we have. We absolutely have.
"It won’t be a lot different at the weekend. The only thing the players know is they have got one big, huge, 90 minutes to go.
"They have acquitted themselves really, really, well this season.
"I thought the reception they got the other night from the supporters that stayed behind was terrific. That was great the other night.
"I think the football club has done well. We haven’t flirted with relegation once and it has done for years.
"The average budget in this league has gone up over 85/86 per cent in the last seven or eight years and ours hasn’t.
"Ours hasn’t got anywhere near that so for us to keep punching above our weight is a credit to the lads and what they have given.
"The only tinge of sadness for me is, how would we have done if we’d had Tom Bayliss for the last two months?
"How would we have done if we’d had Dan Udoh for the last 10 months? How would we have done if we’d had George Nurse for the last 10 months?
"That’s what I’d really like to know. I’m pretty sure if we’d had those players with the group we’ve had this season, I think we would be higher than where we are now.
"Those injuries have been really, really, crippling for us.
"And when you think about it, I think most of the season we have worked off of 15 players at best – that's probably what we have worked off this season. 15 players.
"There might be a few more people that have had appearances – but how many?
"We have probably worked off of 15 players this season. Thank god there is only one more game we have to navigate around."
ON POOR REFEREEING DECISIONS THROUGHOUT THE SEASON:
"The nine points over Christmas would have nice, wouldn’t it? Imagine us now with nine points.
"At the beginning of the season, there was another one – against Accrington.
"How can you send Tom Flanagan off for a case of mistaken identity for a goalkeeper?
"One of them is an outfield player and the other one has got the brightest yellow kit you’ve ever seen!
"Mistaken identity? Don’t wind me up about it! I’d forgotten about it!"
ON COMPETING WITH LEAGUE ONE’S BIG CLUBS:
"There will not be a team in this division that’s got a lower budget than us that will finish above us. That will be a fact."
ON THE PROGRESS AT THE CLUB SINCE STEVE'S ARRIVAL AS MANAGER:
"The first season was about staying up and that was really tough, especially when I went down with Covid.
"Working from the hospital seems like a long time ago now, but I couldn’t tell you how hard that was.
"The good thing about the progression the club has had since is that all of that wasn’t a waste of time in that hospital bed.
"The second year was always going to be a transitional year. And I’ll never forget those boys for what they did for me when I was in hospital. I’ll never forget them for that.
"In that second season, you get 10 out and maybe another seven in. And then you get another 10 out.
"So by the time we are where we are, the only players left at the football club from the time I came in two and a half years ago are Harry Burgoyne, Dan Udoh – who we only had for one season – and Rekil Pyke who couldn’t nail down a start and was injured when I first came in.
"Second season, he started okay. He was getting better. Then there was a thought and a theory of him going out on loan.
"He went to Scunthorpe and that didn’t go very well.
"He came back at the start of this season. He had the off-season programme that we give to the players.
"He came back this season and this has probably been his best season up until late when he’s had that Achilles problem.
"I think it’s been two-and-a-half years of hard work. Hard work. There have been lots of people that have helped on a day-to-day basis. All of my staff. The players.
"The players have trained this morning.
"I said to them afterwards ‘if this was the first day of the season where they are all lively and bubbly and have a spring in their step, if they trained like that on the first day of the season – I'd be absolutely delighted.’
"So for it to be 10 months on, let’s hope they can take that into the game at the weekend.
"And then all of a sudden summer work, that gets done with myself and Keith (head of recruitment Keith Burt). And nobody else gets involved in that."
ON THE SUPPORT OF THE FANS:
"We would have had bigger crowds here than we would have budgeted for – that's for sure.
"I don’t know what the crowds were on average last season – 5,000 something.
"We have had 6,000 here most weeks and when we have had the big guns we’ve had 7,000 and 8,000.
"Our crowds this year have definitely been bigger than what we would have budgeted for.
"Also, I don’t know the Mayor, but I’d like to thank her for the nice plaque she sent me and a letter about producing a team at Shrewsbury that excites the supporters.
"She thanked me for that. I don’t know her, Elisabeth (outgoing Mayor Councillor Elisabeth Roberts). But I’d like to thank her for that because it was very kind of her."
ON PLANS FOR NEXT SEASON:
"They will probably begin on Monday. At the moment we just have to focus on the game.
"There is no point in looking at anything else, just the game.
ON LUKE LEAHY REACHING 100 SHREWSBURY APPEARANCES:
"I remember the first time I met Luke – I met him down in Bristol in a Costa.
"I did say in my programme notes guess who paid! For those who don’t know it definitely wasn’t him that paid – it was me.
"But it was well worth a Costa Coffee wasn’t it?"
ON IF THE RECENT DEPARTURE OF CEO BRIAN CALDWELL WILL AFFECT PLAYER RECRUITMENT:
"I don’t know anything about the new board. I haven’t spoken to anyone about it – that is not my business.
"If you are asking me what happened before ‘did Brian Caldwell pick any of the players?’ No he never – he left that to me." 