Defender looking forward to Huddersfield test
Joe Riley is looking forward to welcoming Huddersfield Town to the Greenhous Meadow in the EFL Cup tie on Tuesday night:“I remember making my debut for Bolton against Macclesfield in the League Cup so I have some fond memories about it. The cup means a lot because a good cup run can allow you to play some big teams which is great for revenue and that so we want to do well. You go into every game wanting to win, the mentality is always the same. The manager wants to do that in every game including the pre-season friendlies and we are the same as players.”
The 24-year-old joined Shrewsbury from Bury last month on a two year deal and the defender believes it will be a good contest:
“We fancy our chances against Huddersfield. They have a great manager and have bought some good players so I think they will do well this year but we will take our performance from Saturday into Tuesday’s game. It will be a good test. Every player in League One wants to make the step up to the Championship so it will be a good test individually and collectively.”
Riley was delighted to get the season underway on the weekend and despite the defeat he was content with the display from the team:
“It was great to get the season started, it was a brilliant atmosphere out there. We are still a bit disappointed but we are a new team and it is going to take us a bit of time to gel. We are really positive about this season. It is a bit cliché but you have to take the positives from a game like that. They were always going to be favourites but I thought we matched them and even had the better chances so we were fairly pleased with our performance.”
Riley made three Premier League appearances in the 2011/12 season and the right back is happy with being at Shrewsbury:
“It is dead easy to settle in here. The lads have been brilliant and the manager and Jacko are great. Everyone has made me feel welcome so I am happy. I am travelling in from Manchester at the minute and staying over a couple of nights a week. It isn’t too bad but it is a bit further away from Bury I know that. There is a lot of new faces so it is all about gelling and getting a good team spirit and I think we are doing that.”