Shrewsbury Town

Tom Bradshaw says he'll do all he can to help Shrewsbury Town pull off the great escape in the final three games.

Good Friday's damaging home defeat against Crewe Alexandra at the Greenhous Meadow has left Town on the brink of relegation, five points from safety.

But speaking ahead of Monday's trip to Preston North End, Bradshaw says no-one is giving up the fight.

"I'll do everything in my power, and so will the rest of the team to try to put things right," he said. "We know it's going to be a very hard task but stranger things have happened in football.

"The fans stuck behind us and it was massively appreciated. This club means a lot to me. I've been here since I was 16 and it hurts me to see the fans get angry. They've got every right to be - you can't be three-nil down to one of your relegation rivals at home and expect them to be happy."

Bradshaw's strike in second half stoppage time - his sixth of the season - proved to be barely a consolation in the three-one defeat, and he admitted the goal counted for very little.

"You could see after the goal, it wasn't a matter of happiness and celebration," he said. "It was more frustration and anger being released from everyone. It's a shame we couldn't get one earlier before they scored the third. It came too late. You can't expect to be three-nil down after 70 odd minutes and take anything from the game."

The 21 year old was honest in his assessment of the Town performance and has now targeted a maximum points return from the remaining games, starting at Deepdale on Monday. A home match with Peterborough then follows, before a final day trip to Gillingham.

"Crewe were beatable but we just didn't turn up," he said. "Being three-nil down at home to a relegation rival is nowhere near good enough. It's hard to pinpoint where we're going wrong. It's not an effort thing. Whoever says that is incorrect. Every player I know goes into a football match and puts in everything they can. Sometimes it doesn't work out and it's happened too frequently this season.  We need to put it right and if we have any chance of staying up, we need to get nine points from the remaining three games. There's no alternative."

Frustratingly, a Town win would have taken them out of the relegation zone on goal difference, but Bradshaw says his team-mates should use that as a positive that they can still get out of trouble.

"It keeps a faint hope alive as if everyone else had have won, we could have been not far off relegated now," he said. "If the fans keep backing us and showing faith, then we'll do everything we can to repay them, starting on Monday. We'll all put in as much effort as we possibly can and I'll do anything I can to help the team."

Bradshaw is hoping he's done enough to earn a place in the starting XI at Preston, after being sidelined with a knee injury which was picked up training in February.

"I'd like to think I've given the manager a selection problem. But it's not about individuals at this stage, it's about the team getting three points.  Six points wouldn't be enough, in my opinion. We've got to get all nine - it's not going to be an easy task when we're up against the likes of Preston and Peterborough, but we've got to back ourselves to get the points.  Since I've been at the club, it's been about chasing promotion or winning promotion. Even finishing 16th last season was quite a positive. I've never been involved in a relegation fight and it's not a nice place to be. No-one wants that on their CV and the club don't want to be in League Two."