Gaffer pleased to have leader and organiser onboard
Micky Mellon has spoken to ShrewsWeb and expressed his delight at being able to add Liam Lawrence to his side.
The two worked together last season at Barnsley and Micky saw at first hand the quality that Liam can bring to the new look Town squad.
Everyone was down to the hard work of pre-season training this morning and ShrewsWeb spoke to Micky afterwards for his thoughts on Liam joining.
“Liam is a lad I know very well from my time at Barnsley and from during his career”, said Micky.
“He is a really good guy and a very talented footballer and definitely the type of player I wanted in the club to do that organising job for me on the pitch.
“He is a really exciting signing and one that shows people that Shrewsbury Town want to have a real good go at making us a good side.”
During his career in the Premier League Liam played as a winger with Sunderland and Stoke City where he made nearly 200 appearances. In recent years though he has reverted to his favoured position in the centre of midfield and Micky also believes he is bringing in a leader.
Mickey added:”For the last 6 or 7 years he has played as a holding midfield player and he certainly did that brilliantly at Barnsley when I was there.
“He can play a number of positions as he is a good footballer, but he is also a very good organiser.
“He is very calm, very good on the ball and very good at knowing what we are trying to achieve when we have the football and when we don’t.
“Liam is also a good talker and is a leader, brilliant in the dressing room and very much like myself in that the standards need to be very high and what we need to demand out of each other.”
Micky finished with some kind words for Town chairman Roland Wycherley who has backed his manager since he was appointed. The addition of Liam Lawrence sees 12 new faces in the Town squad as the club look to begin their fight back.
“I’m committed to building an exciting team for our fans and for the chairman”, said Micky.
“He was been really brilliant in helping to bring Liam in as it was an important signing for me and once again he has backed me.
“Everyone should know about the backing he has given me and his commitment to get this team together.”