Sadler's thoughts after Wigan win
Shrewsbury Town defender Mat Sadler has called for his side to keep their feet firmly on the ground, despite going top of SkyBet League One with a gutsy 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon.
Stefan Payne’s fourth goal of the season proved to be the difference between the sides at the Montgomery Waters Stadium, as Salop earnt all three points in their 3,000th league game.
Club captain Sadler has been an important presence in the heart of Town’s back line this term, and he was pleased with the result and to get another clean sheet.
“We knew it would be the toughest test that we’ve had so far and it proved to be that,” Sadler told the assembled press. “Obviously we are delighted to win the game and with a clean sheet.
“It would have been nice to get that second goal and not have to drop as deep as we did towards the end. But, everybody put their bodies on the line today, and there’s always a sense of urgency when the opposition are coming at us.”
The experienced defender was keen to emphasise the fact that despite Salop’s fantastic start, there is still plenty of hurdles to overcome in the coming weeks.
“It’s great to be top, it can probably be classed as a good start now after six games, but that’s all that it is,” he continued.
“We’re doing okay at the moment, you judge a team after 30 or 40 games, not after six. So, we’re doing great at the moment, but it’s a long old season. There’s going to be injuries, suspensions, plenty of things thrown our way and the challenge is to rise above all of them.”
Paul Hurst’s men host Southend on Tuesday night in their next match, and Sadler also highlighted that there’s no time for his side to rest on their laurels.
“There’ll be no ranting or raving,” he said. “There’s another big game on Tuesday that our attention has to go straight to and the gaffer’s alluded to that straight after the game today.
“It’s a relentless league and these Saturday – Tuesday fixtures always test the squad, test our fitness, and our togetherness. They’re the challenges that we’re yet to come through, and they’re the challenges that we want to come through.”