Gaffer gives his thoughts ahead of the game with Hibernian
Shrewsbury Town take on Scottish Cup holders Hibernian on Sunday in the final game of preseason.It will be the last chance Manager Micky Mellon will get to take a look at his side in a match environment before the season opens against MK Dons.
And Mellon hopes that Hibernian will provide them with an opportunity to continue the work they have been doing in training.
“You want to try and get something out of all the games that we play in and Hibs will be no different,” said Micky.
“You want to be working on the principles of how we play, you want the players to be fitter, sharper, doing things without me telling them or having to keep reminding them, so that it becomes a habit.”
“So the Hibs game will just be an extension on from what we have already done.”
Despite being a Scot, Mellon has never played in his home country, but he is expecting a difficult test against Hibernian.
“I’ve never really played in Scotland. I may have played there as a kid, but that’s probably as a schoolboy,” Mellon said.
“But, I know they’re a fantastic club with great traditions in Scotland, they’ve got some fantastic players playing for them, they’re the Scottish cup holders, and they’ve got some great history.”
“I know if Hibs come here it will always be a tough test so it’s a game that were looking forward to and we’ll be ready for.”
Micky has known Hibernian boss Neil Lennon for many years and is looking forward to welcoming him to the Greenhous Meadow.
“You play against people for so many years and probably around the same age and rubbed shoulders for a long time,” said Micky.
“And then when he went to Celtic, I was lucky enough to go up and spend some time up there with him and see how they did things when I was at Fleetwood and Neil was very good and opened the doors to us and allowed us to have a good look around.”
“I spoke to him when he was at Bolton, in the tough time that he had there, but I’m sure he’s very excited about his next challenge at a great club like Hibs.”
With just a week to go until the season starts, Mellon admitted that he knows his best team, but was coy on whether they would start on Sunday.
“There’s still a way to go because you’re barring injury and all the rest of it, but I would say in my mind now that I probably have a team, that if the game was today, I would pick,” admitted Micky.
“So I would say the Hibs game we’ll obviously work on things that we want to get out of it, the fitness and all the rest of it, but I think that I’ve already got a team in mind.”
“Whether the team that plays the Hibs game will be the team that plays against MK Dons I’m not going to tell you.
“We’ll continue to keep working with the group and if we think that somebody needs match minutes, then well use it for that,” added the Gaffer.
Sunday is also the clubs open day, with plenty for the fans to do both before and after the game. Micky says he is looking forward to interacting with the supporters.
“All the doors will be open to them to see their football club, because it is theirs. So it’s great that the club have organised that and the chairman has said yes that’s fine,” said Micky.
“The opportunity for them to get in and among the players and in the building and see where it is that we work I’m sure will be very exciting for them and we’ll try and contribute to that by talking to them and showing them what we do.”
“There’s a whole host of things going on and of course a decent game of football, so it should make for a terrific day at this time of the year.”