Midfielder looking for three points on the road
After a whirlwind week for Shrewsbury Town's midfield youngster battling against the giants of Chelsea, Ryan Woods is now ready for a different challenge away at Dagenham and Redbridge at the weekend.
Woods played the full 90 minutes during Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup clash with the Premier League leaders but is hoping for three more points come 5pm on Saturday afternoon.
“It is a little bit different obviously, but we’ve got to treat every game as if it was Chelsea every week," said Woods.
“The league is the most important thing at the end of the day, we’ve got to go there and get another three points on the board.”
Woods did not shy away from the challenge against Chelsea and thrived playing against the likes of Oscar, Andre Schürrle and Didier Drogba.
He said: “It was massive. The players they’ve got have very good ability.
"Of the two players I played against, one got to the semi-final of the World Cup and one won the World Cup, so it proves what type of calibre they’ve got.
“It was a great night and it was a great test to see where we are as a club and where we are as individuals.
“It was a massive thing for the town itself with fans were queuing up around the car park when the tickets came on sale, that was nice for us to see as well and it was just a great feeling for everybody involved.
“I think we performed tremendously well and we can be very proud of what we’ve done for ourselves and for the club, I think everybody will sit back and take notice of Shrewsbury Town now.”
Woods has caught the eye with his performances this season, and people are beginning to speak very highly of the 21-year-old midfielder.
“I’ve been hearing nice things about me and obviously it’s good to hear, I must be doing something right on the pitch," he said.
“The gaffer gives me all the confidence in the world, he makes me feel like a million dollars.
“I’m working hard and just trying to improve on the little details in my game and we’ll just see where that takes me.”
The last time Town played Dagenham, it was followed by a promotion party as they gained promotion back to League One in 2012.
Woods said: “It’s going to bring back good memories, but we’ve got to go there and not think about anything like that.
"We’ve just got to go there full of confidence that we can get the three points.
“I just remember it felt like the whole of Shrewsbury Town was in the football ground, it was ram-packed. I remember all the fans on the pitch and it was just a great day for everybody. Hopefully we can bring that back again this year."
“It would mean everything to have a promotion medal, it’s a great thing to have on your CV after relegation last year.
“It’s a very exciting time and it’s a pleasure to be involved with a club like this and a team like this when we’re doing so well. It’s just very exciting.”