Defender Proud Of Town's Efforts
Zak Whitbread was proud of Shrewsbury’s efforts despite being defeated by Manchester United:
“There was a lot of optimism before the game to give a good go of it but today showed the difference between levels. We are not too disheartened because they are a world class team and we did not disgrace ourselves. We were disappointed with certain things but mostly we are proud of how we did.”
The 31-year-old has thoroughly enjoyed the cup run: “We have had a great time this week and the cup run has been a great experience. We were massively up against it and we have done well to get as far as we have into the last 16. We are proud of ourselves and being knocked out by Manchester United is not a bad thing. I haven’t seen many teams play with the ability of United tonight so it is definitely theirs to win.”
The defender felt the team did well to carry on fighting in the second half: “It was bad timing with the goals but you get punished against quality teams so we can’t complain. I had an opportunity to score but the keeper did well to parry the ball away. We had a go in the second half but it wasn’t to be. We could have let our heads drop when we went three nil down but we kept on going and gave it a good go. I thought the midfield lads gave an unbelievable shift to track all the runners and we are all exhausted but we can take a lot of positives from tonight.”
The former Derby man was eager to turn attention back to the league and the aim of avoiding relegation: “Our real business comes on the weekend and the weeks ahead and we have to stay in this league and work hard to do that. Hopefully we can perform like we did tonight and finish our chances when we get them. Every game from now until the end of the season is crucial so it is an intense period and we are ready for it.”