Gaffer's thoughts after win at Gillingham
Micky Mellon was delighted as Shrewsbury fought to secure a win against Gillingham after being pegged back twice in the game:
“I am delighted for everybody. We had the battling qualities that we knew we would need to bring to Gillingham because they put you under a lot of pressure. I lost count of the amount of free kicks they had, I think it could be a Guinness World Record with the amount of times we had to defend another free kick after another one. That was tough and I think that was the story of the game. We planned on defending deep and catching them on the counter and we managed to do that.”
“I wouldn’t say enjoy is the word, I would say endure. But certainly when the final whistle goes you are pleased. During it you are so focused on the clock. It is the only time in my life that I wish the time away, but we are delighted with the result and I enjoyed it in the end when the final whistle went.”
The 44-year-old thought it was a clinical away performance:
“You have to be prepared to tough it out with an away performance. You have to be difficult to score against and then be clinical at the other end. We have some good players up front with Sullay Kaikai, Andy Mangan and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and I felt they were a constant threat. I felt at any time we got the ball behind Gillingham we looked dangerous so it was a good shift from the boys.”
“I just had this instinct that there was always more in the game so we tried not to get too frustrated when we conceded a goal. When we lost the goal from the set piece it wasn’t a free kick, it shouldn’t have been awarded. So we got punished for that just before half time and that was a tough one for us and made my team talk at half time very different but we came out with a great togetherness and kept fighting. Mangan scoring gave us another lift but then we conceded an equalizer but then Jean-Louis got the winner so that was fantastic.”
Mellon was impressed with Andy Mangan and the flowing move which set up the winner:
“Mangan scores goals and he is infectious when he plays like that. He is full of energy, he will be the first to tell you he has to be consistent at that because that is the level I expect him to be at every game. I thought he was a constant threat and his running in-behind and work with Jean-Louis was brilliant. When the ball bounces in the box there is always the chance he will get there.”
“The passing move was terrific on the counter. We were clinical about it to free up Jean-Louis. I thought Mangan was going to go on the overlap but he didn’t and we were absolutely made up to see the ball nestle in the top corner.”
The former Fleetwood manager paid tribute to the travelling fans who made the gruelling trip to Kent:
“You know how I feel about the fans, I am not just saying that now. We are trying to give them a team to be proud of and giving them days like today is what it is all about. It is special to see them so happy and to give them that fantastic trip home now that they will get. They know we will keep fighting and continue to put this team together that makes Shrewsbury proud.”
Despite the positives, Shrewsbury were missing James Wallace through injury but the news looks better for Ian Black:
“I don’t know about Ian Black but he is walking and looks okay so that is good news. James Wallace was out of the team because he is injured. He landed awkwardly, if it wasn’t for bad luck that kid wouldn’t have any. He has landed on his knee and has jarred it. There was no point us bringing him down here on a bus so we will see how he is Monday and hopefully move him forward because he is a terrific player. “
Mellon insists he will treat Walsall on Tuesday night like any other game despite the fact a win would guarantee safety:
“I have to be honest it makes no difference to me. I want to win all the games and I want to build the football club. It is going to be a really tasty game with it being a local derby under the lights and we are really looking forward to it. We want to represent the team well and it should be a cracker.”
“We should play all our games away from home. There will be things that we will change but we do seem to be doing better going to places but we are working on it. We are a developing football club and a developing team, we have to remember that. But we will go there on Tuesday to keep on trying to produce the team that everyone can be proud of.”
James Eley