Aaron gutted after Posh defeat and relegation
Midfielder Aaron Wildig admitted Shrewsbury Town had "let a lot of people down" after the club confirmed their relegation in the defeat to Peterborough United on Saturday.
The four-two loss at the Greenhous Meadow brought the curtain down on only their second season back at League One level, and Wildig offered no excuses in his post match assessment.
"Like everyone else in the ground, I'm gutted," he said. "The problem wasn't just against Peterborough, it's been the whole season. Like Mike Jackson said to us in the changing room afterwards, everyone has got to take a long hard look at themselves. Over the course of the season, we've not been good enough. I think we've let a lot of people down. We haven't had back-to-back wins all season and won only nine games. I don't think it's crept up on us. We had big games in the last few months where we've been saying 'we've got to win' and slipped up."
Wildig reserved praise for the supporters, many of whom stayed until after the final whistle to applaud the players from the field.
"The fans have been brilliant," he said. "We've not had a great season so you don't know what you're going to get. I've read in the paper about people questioning our attitude, but I thought they were superb against Peterborough and for them to give us applause after the season we've had is brilliant. Hopefully with that mentality and the strong foundations we have as a club we'll be back in League One as soon as possible."
The Welshman, who won promotion with Town two season ago, says after next Saturday's final match at Gillingham, all the focus will be on preparing a squad which is ready for the big kick off in August.
"League Two is a difficult league, but I don't see why we can't do well," he said. "When you get relegated a lot of things have to change. You've got to go and get a winning mentality back. Against Peterborough we were one-nil up and started the game really well, and they had a 30 minute spell where we couldn't manage their diamond system and three goals went into the back of our net. You've got to know how to manage, control and win a game. That will be massive next year as there won't be a lot between the sides."
Big changes are a certainty at the Greenhous Meadow in the summer with a number of players out of contract - including Wildig. He says he'd like to stay on and help Town back to the third tier of English football.
"It's a great club with all the foundations to do well," he said. "If there's something there for me, I'd definitely consider it. I've got no qualms about being at this football club next year. I've had a few bad injuries and this has been my first real, proper full season. I'd like to think I've played better and done myself a bit of credit. As a team we haven't done well but hopefully next year, if I'm here, we'll be a successful team."