Town 'keeper looks forward to the Checkatrade Trophy
Shrewsbury Town take on Scunthorpe United tonight in the Checkatrade Trophy.Shrewsbury are looking to bounce back from losing to Cambridge United in the first round of the competition and goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler believes it is an important game to do well in.
Town faced Scunthorpe in September, losing 1-0, and Leutwiler admitted that it will be a difficult game against League One’s high flyers.
“It’s going to be a tough test,” Jayson told the gathering press.
“They won again at the weekend, they are in a very good run, so it’s going to be very tough. We are going up against the top of the league, so it’s going to be a good test for us.
“We will try to get some confidence back and to beat a good side is always good for the team.”
Tuesday night provides Town with a chance to get back to winning ways and Jayson thinks it is important to take the game seriously.
“It’s another game to play, another game to improve,” continued Jayson.
“We should use this game to improve our weakness or to bring us some confidence for the next league game.
“It’s something you have to take seriously because it is a game to play and you still have to go out there and perform. Everyone is focussed on the game and our last results weren’t three wins on the row or something like that, so we have to take it very seriously.
“Scunthorpe will try to win too. It’s still a competition and you can get to Wembley, so I don’t think any of our players would say ‘no I don’t want to play there’, so you have to be serious and play the game 100 percent and try to win the game to go through.”
Jayson struggled with injury for the second half of last season after injuring his face in the FA Cup against Grimsby. But, the Swiss stopper believes he is over his injury problems and ready to get back to his best.
“I’m happy at the moment and I just try to perform as best I can,” Leutwiler said.
“I always say that I try and perform 200% and try to do my best and try to keep the ball out of the net. I love to play for this club and it’s always good to try and get as many games as I can in the season.
“Last year I was in and out from December with the face injury. But, that was last season and I feel good now. You have to manage it as best you can, you have to get enough recovery, but the physiotherapists are overseeing that and they tell us what to do.”
Town’s number one admitted that Shrewsbury have struggled to keep clean sheets so far this season, but believes the team are looking to put that right.
“I go into every game saying I don’t want to concede goals, it would be wrong if I didn’t think that,” said Jayson.
“As a whole team we think that if we don’t concede we are going to win or at least get a point, so we try to and I think we are going to get some clean sheets in the next few games.
“I’m very disappointed when we lose a game, and when we let in one or two goals I’m not very happy at home, but you have to carry on because the next Tuesday you play another game, so if you keep thinking about the goals you’ve conceded it doesn’t help you either.”