Danny's thoughts ahead of Saturday's game at home to Northampton
Town caretaker boss Danny Coyne insists that a strong mentality will be key to Shrewsbury arresting their poor run with a positive result against Northampton on Saturday.After Tuesday’s defeat to Sheffield United, Coyne’s side are now nine without a win since beating Oldham in early September.
But the temporary boss – who is most likely taking charge of his final game in charge – says that there is no reason that Town can’t pick up a positive result at the weekend, if their mental approach is correct.
“I say to the team before the game: ‘if you do concede or score, don’t let it affect your mood, you’ve got to stick to what we’ve said’, because goals change games, and goals change the mentality of people.
“My view is that if you can maintain that consistency mentally, whether you concede or whether you score, it’s got to be throughout the whole 90 minutes.
“We’ve got to concentrate on ourselves and play to our strengths.”
The caretaker boss has been disappointed with the results since he took charge, but he says that it’s not through a lack of commitment.
“We want to win every game, that’s what we’ve set out to do in every game we’ve taken care of.
“It’s unfortunately not happened but we have a game on Saturday to try and put that right.
He is also happy to take any slice of luck that might come his side’s way.
“If we score and it comes off the ref, I don’t care. We’ll take everything that we can.
“As long as it’s Shrewsbury 1, I’m not bothered.
Coyne knows Northampton boss Rob Page well, having been a part of several Wales squads together during the late 90s and early 2000s, and he is not surprised by his opponent’s so far seamless transition into management.
On Page, Coyne said: “He’s one of those guys you would want in the trenches with you, so it’s not surprise that he’s gone into management and that he’s doing as well as he has so far.
“I’ve always thought that, he was always that way inclined when he was playing, leading and talking. He knew set ups of opposition teams and he was a heart on his sleeve player.
Coyne went on: “Their last couple of games haven’t been what he wanted, but we know it’s going to be a tough game. They’re a physical team, and it’s going to be hard.”
Town will continue to be aided after midfielder Louis Dodds returned to action on Tuesday night, and the boss believes that his attitude could help to restore some positivity in the Town changing room.
“He’s a great lad, as well as a player. He’s lively, he’s positive all the time. He’s a positive role model, and they’re the sort of people that you need, especially in times like this.
Coyne continued: “He keeps everybody smiling. But in training he gets his job done, I can’t speak highly enough of him, he’s an excellent pro.
The boss also discussed a possible return for captain Adam El-Abd, who missed the Sheffield United game in midweek.
“He’s trained this morning so we will assess him tomorrow. He’s a big part of what we do, he’s our captain so he’s a big part of the defence.”