Shrewsbury Town defender Matt Pennington spoke to press ahead of our trip to face AFC Wimbledon.
Pennington has been one of the starting centre-backs for Shrewsbury Town in recent weeks and has been a key part in Salop keeping five clean sheets in their last six league games.
Pennington spoke about the game ahead and reflected on Tuesday night’s draw with Gillingham and the current defensive form.
On the fixture:
“I’m looking forward to another game, especially after the last game we had when we didn’t really get going, so it’ll be nice to get back out on the pitch and make things right. [Long journeys mean] less time with the family and it takes it out of your legs a little bit compared to home games, but we’ll get some rest in and we’ll be alright. [The preparation has been going] all good! We had a little move around today for the lads who have started, something short and sharp to get the legs going again so we’re all ready.
“It’ll be nice to play there, I’ve never been there before and even with the old ground I’ve never been there before, so it’ll be nice to see what it’s like down there and it’ll be even nicer when we get the win. No, [I don’t keep track of the stadiums I’ve played in] I just think of it before the game, like this one, I’ve not been there before and it’s just a different experience."
On Gillingham:
“It felt like it was a 50:50 League One game. It was percentage football, it’s always a tough place to go no matter where they are in the league, it's always tough to play there. I’ve been there a few times and it’s never an easy game, it’s normally cold and a hard match."
On the clean sheets:
“We’ve been well-drilled in that; the manager is always on to us about our shape and backing each other up so that’s coming to fruition of late. I remember at the start of the season we couldn’t buy a clean sheet, so you can see that the work we put in on the training ground is coming to fruition - and we’re settled into our positions and playing with each other, so I think that helps as well - it’s definitely a positive to take.”
