Ollie Norburn previews Town's Emirates FA Cup third round clash with Southampton.
Shrewsbury Town's first fixture of 2021 sees the squad head south to take on Southampton in the Emirates FA Cup third round at St. Mary's.
Salop will be looking to cause an upset against the Saints in the hope of facing Arsenal in the next round of the competition.
Town midfielder Ollie Norburn is looking forward to the occasion and hopes his team can put on a good performance for Steve Cotterill who is unable to attend the fixture due to Covid-19.
On the absence of Steve Cotterill:
“We’d love him to be there but the most important thing at the moment is his recovery and for him to do that at his own pace. All the lads have been asking about him and everyone’s wishing him and his family well.
"It’s been a great turn-around since he’s come in with the positive results and we’ve got to go down to Southampton tomorrow and put on a performance for ourselves and the Gaffer.”
On Southampton:
“Obviously we’ve had some great draws in the competition before but we have previously been sidetracked by the Cup so it’s a lesson we need to make sure that we learn from and we don’t allow it to repeat itself.
“We go down there playing a Premier League opposition so we hope to give a good account of ourselves. You have to raise your game. We’re playing against a very good side at a good stadium so it’s important we give it our all and hopefully return with a positive result into the next round.
“It’s strange that we already know the opponents that wait in the fourth round for whoever is successful tomorrow. It’s a good incentive for the lads to give it our all and get through.
"Another one of the top teams in the country in Arsenal so obviously we will take that in the back of our minds in the game tomorrow but we must focus on Southampton because we know how tough it’s going to be away from home.”
On the short break:
“I’ve had my gym since the first lockdown so I’ve been following the programme that the fitness coach set. It’s been tough, but I tested negative so I’ve made sure I have kept on top of my fitness and ensured I’m ready to play.
“We have to look at the positives from this very negative situation. We had some time off after that very tough month in December where we all worked so hard and achieved a very good run of results but we are ready to go now - full speed ahead with a busy month in January so let’s bring it on.”
Take a look at the Salop match preview ahead of the tie...
