Towering defender looks ahead to Rochdale
Shrewsbury Town Defender Toto Nsiala is confident that Shrewsbury can still get out of their current predicament, despite the recent run of defeats.Town currently sit 21st in League One and face eighth placed Rochdale tomorrow, but Toto is defiant that Town won’t go down without a fight.
“It’s not going to happen”, said Nsiala.
“We’ve spoke about it over and over and it’s one thing as players that none of us want, so we will make sure that is doesn’t happen and we’ve still got a really good chance as well.
“It’s always squeaky whether you are at the bottom or at the top. The teams that pull through are the teams that stay calm and just do the job. I know we’ve lost the last three games, but it doesn’t mean we are going to lose the games that are to come.
“We need three wins and I can see us getting it to be honest with you. I can see us doing well and getting a good few results, so there’s no squeaky time here. Everyone is still together, still smiling and we’ll pull through.”
It’s been a whirlwind week for the 25 year old, who became a father for the first time less than 10 hours before the game with Millwall. Toto spoke of how proud he was to become a father and how it has changed his outlook on the pitch.
“I was in the toilet at about half 11 on Monday night and my Mrs shouted me and said that her water’s had broken”, said Toto
“I didn’t get to the hospital until about quarter to 12 and the baby came at 11:31 in the morning on Tuesday. I stayed with them a little bit and then I managed to go home and have something to eat before the game.
“It was a very different feeling. I normally go into a game being nervous and going to the toilet loads, but I was just so relaxed. I just kept having the baby and the mother in my head and it just got me through.
“I obviously cramped up in the second half from being tired and not eating right, but I got through it and it was good.”
Toto admitted that he was still catching up on his sleep ahead of this weekend’s game, but he was looking forward to being out on the pitch on Saturday.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a tactical game, I just think it’s going to be about who wants it the most really”, said the former Everton defender.
“The excitement of going again and having the pressure of staying up makes it more worthwhile. I thrive on the pressure because it switches you on. You know you’ve got to run that extra yard, concentrate more and have more willpower in you.
“I was just in the physio room and we were all talking about it and there was no panic or anything. There was no thought of ‘if we lose this game’, we were just saying ‘we are going to win this game and this game’ and there are still positive vibes around the place, so that’s a good sign.”