Dodds looks forward to facing his former club
Shrewsbury Town midfielder Louis Dodds is hoping to put the disappointment of Tuesday night behind him when Town take on Port Vale on Tuesday night.Dodds is a former Vale player, having spent 8 years at the club before moving to Shrewsbury in the summer, but believes there is no better game to get a result in.
“We had an ear bashing after the game on Tuesday,” Dodds told the Press.
“It’s the first time we’ve really seen the new gaffer unleash a little bit and say a few home truths and I think that was what we needed and hopefully the lads will take that on board.
“I think once you have a bit of a disappointment like that it’s good to have a game quickly to rectify it and hopefully being a big game they will bring some fans and they’re always passionate, so it will be a good game for us to win and bounce back.
“Being a footballer is the best job in the world. Obviously you have your ups and downs and Tuesday night was a massive downer because it was everything you don’t want as a footballer.
“You’re not getting much of the ball, you’re losing three-nil and you don’t even look like scoring, so it’s time for us to get the high feelings back again and hopefully a better time on Saturday.
“Since the new management’s come in there’s be an uplift in the players’ performances and desire. We just need to get that consistency now and hopefully that will come on Saturday.”
Saturday will be the first time that Dodds will have played against Port Vale after leaving the club this summer and he admits that it will be a strange feeling.
“I played over 300 games at Port Vale and scored a few goals,” said Louis.
“I really enjoyed my time there and it will be strange to see opposition players and staff that are still there.
“You don’t go through anything for 8 years without still having feelings for a club like that. I have a lot of time for the people there, the fans, and I still live in the area.
“It’s going to be very strange playing against, but I’ve got to put that to the back of my mind and try and do a job.”
Some questions have been asked about the players’ mentality after the 3-0 defeat to Fleetwood, but Louis is hopeful that the players can get over the defeat and start another run of victories.
“Hopefully not too many heads dropped,” said Dodds.
“I think it’s just disappointment because we all want the same thing, but sometimes you can’t go out and get the result that you want and performances aren’t the same, but it’s when it happens at three, four, five games that it will become a problem. We’ve lost two now so we need to stop the rot and go on another little run again.
“I think on paper we’ve got some great players and I think sometimes when you’re down the bottom you need to start playing a bit ugly and playing percentages, because you play all the nice football you want and then get done one-nil. So, we need to pull a few punches and not play as pretty sometimes.”