Gaffer happy to end 2014 on top but frustrated with Mangan goal not given
Shrewsbury Town manager Micky Mellon is delighted that his side will finish the year at the top of Sky Bet League Two after a 0-0 draw with second-placed Wycombe Wanderers.
Shrewsbury will finish 2014 with 44 points from their 23 games, ahead of Wycombe via a superior goal difference.
Micky said: “It’s a great finish to the year and if anybody had said to me: ‘you’ll finish the year top of the league,’ I would have snatched their hand off, so we’re pleased with that.
“We’ll dust ourselves down and move onto the next game now, but we’re certainly delighted that we finished the year top of the league and we still know that there’s an awful lot of work to be done.
“We can be pleased with the work we’ve done so far because we’ve been the best in the league.”
Micky was not impressed with his side’s first half performance and criticised the work rate of his players.
He said: “I don’t think we played or showed the energy levels that was needed in the first half of a game like this on a tricky pitch and after two games in three days.
“I thought that in the midfield we were 5% off the pace, so we had a little chat at half time and we came out in the second half and I thought we looked like we were absolutely the team that was going to get the victory.
“After that first half I’m just pleased that we showed our reaction in the second half and competed more like us.
“A few times today the final pass or that cross that we needed in the final third was just a wee bit lacking.”
A linesman’s flag denied Andy Mangan a 90th minute winner and as would be expected, Micky was frustrated with the decision.
He said: “I think it’s tight but why doesn’t he flag him on the first one?
“He’s just said to me on the pitch at the end, ‘he was offside on the second one,’ but it’s the same player who has done both headers, so I can’t work that one out.
“But it’s done now, it’s a massive call and we’ll just have to live with it.”
Micky, however, did think that his side deserved the three points after their second half performance.
“I think the second half was all about us, they had a bit of pace up front and looked a bit dangerous but I don’t remember anything they created in the second half.
“Second half we were better, we played better and adapted better to the type of game we were playing and the type of pitch that we were playing on.
“If anyone was going to score it was going to be us.
“All in all, apart from that decision at the end, we’ve got to be happy finishing the year top of the league.”
Town will travel to third-placed Burton on Saturday 3rd January as league leaders and look to increase their lead at the peak.