Aaron Pierre conducted his first pre-match press conference since re-signing for the club last week.
Aaron re-signed to work under his former teammate, Matt Taylor, last week, with the two having played together at Northampton Town.
Our former Player of the Year left the club at the end of the 2021/22 season with 99 appearances to his name.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's game against Derby, Aaron discussed being back at the club, his first stint in Shropshire and Town's upcoming fixture.
On being back at Salop:
“I love it, I love being here!
"The training has been good, it’s been intense and I'm just looking forward to getting properly started.
“I spoke to the chairman, he gave me the lifeline to come back in, to get back fit and see how things go. Then (I spoke to) the gaffer, I’ve played with him at Northampton, and he then gave me a call to come in and see how things go and go from there.
“I'm elated! It’s so hard being on the outside looking in, watching guys play football and doing what you love to do. It’s great to be back here.”
On the memories of his first spell:
“For me, personally, it's the fans. I love the energy, obviously they had the Grenadian flag there which was a big honour as well.
"The experiences of scoring against Bristol City, playing against Liverpool.
"The guys as well, great bunch of guys when I was here.
"Obviously some moved on and the new guys, the new players that are here now, are as hungry as ever. Great guys to be around and I think it’s a good group.”
On the faces that are still at Salop from when he left:
“I think there’s like five, six players that were here when I was here. Like I said, everyone welcomed me in as if they already knew me, so it's all good for me.”
On life since he left Shrewsbury:
“It’s been hard, I had a bad injury with my ankle which obviously left me out, and then come the January window I ended up going to Wimbledon.
"Then they were doing well at the time, so it was just about biding my time to get in and then once I got my opportunity at the back end of the season, I think I did really well."
On waiting for an opportunity:
“It’s hard, it’s a waiting game sometimes - you've got to patient.
"It’s hard to not be in the mix of things, so you have to just stay focused, stay motivated and do the best you can to get back in”.
On being on 99 Salop appearances:
“I kid you not when I came back into the building, there’s like a wall that’s got every player that has played 100 appearances.
"I’ve just been looking at the next slot, saying that’s gonna be.
"I’m just looking forward to making the 100th. It’s a great achievement under in circumstances to get 100 appearances in any club.
"I want to do that for Shrewsbury. I’m here to help the players and make an impact."
On the competition in central defence:
“It’s not going to be easy, everything’s tough and I think that’s a good thing because it pushes you, it makes you understand that there are standards and you have to keep your standards, maintain that and do better.
"That’s the good thing about the players here is that everyone wants to push each other, everyone wants to do well.
"It’s never going to be easy, so I just need to make sure that I’m on my P’s and Q’s and make sure I do everything the right way."
On Derby County:
“It’s a massive club, they always have a massive following.
"Every game is a big game when you put things in perspective, so we just need to execute our tactical elements and know what we’re going to do."
