Boss Paul Simpson insists hard work is the only answer to ending Shrewsbury Town’s untimely fall from grace as he targets a much needed home win against doomed Darlington on Saturday.
Town have slipped to 10th in the League Two table on the back of a three-game losing run in which they failed to score, but still lie just three points adrift of the play-off places.
Now they have a golden chance to get their stuttering season back on track against rock-bottom Darlington who are 19 points short of safety.
The Quakers, who sacked manager Steve Staunton last weekend, have lost 27 of their 35 league games but one of their four wins came against Town last October.
“We’ve got nine games to go and we’re still in a good position,” said Simpson, hopeful top scorer Dave Hibbert will be fit to return. “We’ve got five home games left that we’ve got to be confident going into and this is the first.
“Everybody goes through little phases and I’m quite sure there are other managers up and down the country who feel the same. Simon Grayson at Leeds will be asking the same questions that we’re asking and Alan Knill, just above us at Bury, is probably asking the same questions.
“We are going through a little bit of a dodgy patch, but the only way to get through this is by still working hard, by being positive and trying to do the right things, and if the players go out and do that this weekend we can suddenly get ourselves going again.”
Simpson, who has Shane Cansdell-Sherriff available after suspension, added his players have to be strong mentally. “You have to be brave,” he said. “You have to have a strong character.
“There are some players who have been through this before, others haven’t, but it’s up to all of them to roll their sleeves up and drag each other through it.”
Simpson, who doesn’t expect any activity ahead of the loan transfer window closing today (Thursday), believes his squad includes enough players with the necessary creativity despite seeing his side not score for 311 minutes of football.
Now he’s looking to the likes of Lewis Neal, Steve Leslie and Benjamin van den Broek to start making chances, with Simpson throwing his support behind Neal who has been singled out for criticism by some supporters.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in his ability,” said Simpson. “All we can do is ask everybody to be patient. He’s a lad who has come to a new club. He’s moved from the Preston area, which is always disruptive. His wife’s been pregnant and has just given birth two weeks ago. People have to understand these things affect you.
“There’s something in Benjamin van den Broek, Steve Leslie, Lewis Neal, but unfortunately recently we haven’t been getting it out. It’s not just them as there’s a whole host of players who haven’t brought something to the table for us lately.”
By Stuart Dunn