Manager looking forward to test against Turkish giants
Graham Turner is excited about his Shrewsbury Town side having the chance to pit their wits against Galatasaray in Saturday's high profile Greenhous Meadow friendly.
The Turkish giants have spent the week at a training camp at the FA's flagship centre St George's Park at Burton.
The likes of Didier Drogda, Wesley Sneijder and Emmanel Eboue have been put through their paces ahead of this weekend's eagerly awaited Meadow clash.
"It's a great game for us," said the Town manager. "You look through their squad of players and there's one of two names that are familiar with us.
"We've worked out there's well over £100 million worth of players in their squad and they've established themselves as a real force in European football. To have them coming to the Meadow is a terrific boost for us.
"You can't get top English sides to come with their first team because they're spending so much time abroad.
"I suppose it's the same for Galatasaray. They've come to this country for a training camp and we're privileged to be part of their warm up for the Emirates Cup tournament and for them to come and play.
"It should be a nice atmosphere and it should be a big boost to have a good gate during the pre-season programme."
GT stressed the game would be useful for Town as a fitness exercise as they continue to work hard in training ahead of the League One opener at home to MK Dons on August 3.
But he knows this is a great chance for his players to shine against world renowned stars.
"There's a number of thoughts on the game itself," he said. "To all extents and purposes it's still our preparation for the coming season. The big date for us is August 3.
"It will be a good test of our fitness, our concentration, our ability to keep the ball because that's the big thing, getting the ball off them and trying to keep it ourselves.
"It's a massive, big test but, above all, it will be a fitness test and part of the fitness programme that we've got in place.
"It's a terrific challenge for the players. Go and prove something, go and do something against them, go and see if we can score a goal, go and see if we can keep a clean sheet for long periods of the game. All those sort of challenges come in."
Tickets remain on sale for the clash with Galatasaray as Town look forward to hosting one of the heavyweights of European football.
It's a game not to be missed!