Steve Evans wants Bristol Rovers to get back to winning ways on the road after a difficult run of results away from The Memorial Stadium.
The Gas have lost four of their five away matches in Sky Bet League Two, with their only win coming against Crawley Town back in August. The win over the Red Devils showed the best side of Rovers, who dominated from start to finish and scored two stylish first-half goals through Tom James and Bobby Kamwa.
However, the Pirates have not been able to replicate the performance on the road, with the other four league victories coming at The Mem. The Gas are also coming into the game off a home defeat, losing 3-1 to Barnet despite leading and controlling the fixture until the final ten minutes, when the Bees stung the hosts, making the most of a defensive mistake and a red card to turn the game around.
Speaking to the media before the trip to the Shrews, Evans discussed Rovers' need to win by any means necessary, looked back at the last trip to the Croud Meadow and delivered the latest team news.
BARNET REFLECTIONS
"We have kept the mood positive. Reality tells you, even after watching it back, that for 79 minutes, it's the best performance since we've come into the club, and we have had a lot of super performances. But it was against a team recognised by many as one of the top two teams in the league alongside Salford.
"If you listen to the words of Dean Brennan afterwards in a private chat with me, he said nobody has done that to us for three or four years and probably since Dean came in, to be fair. At the end of the day, we cost ourselves that game with a big error or two big errors, with the sending-off as well. That doesn't help, but the mood has been kept positive for the reasons of the first 79 minutes."
WINNING IS THE MAIN AIM
"Football is about winning games. So, anytime you would rather take a one-nil win played ugly or not so well rather than play as we did for 79 minutes and get beat. The reality in football is that you've got to win matches. It's about time we got another win on the road. It's been a long time since Crawley, but we recognise that Shrewsbury are a different opposition this season. They signed some good players in the summer and have a young manager making his way. So, we have to be very respectful of what we'll face."
LOOKING FOR A CLEAN SHEET
"It would be nice. It always gives you a hallmark to win a game. We have consistently not had enough of them, and when we did a few weeks ago, when we had consistency in clean sheets, it's no surprise we won the games because on the frontline, we're always capable of scoring a goal or more.
"So, it's important that we do our jobs defensively right and for large parts last week, we did. People can see that we conceded three goals; it's never a three-goal-conceding game when you look at the second goal, and you look at the third goal."
PERSPECTIVE AFTER A TOUGH RUN
"We're not meant to lose games, are we? We're Bristol Rovers in League Two, but the reality is we're trying to do in six months or three months, whatever the window was, to put right what has been wrong here for four or five years.
"That in its own right is challenging, but we have always said internally that our aim is to be in that top group when we turn to Christmas Day, and then we'll see what we can do in January. Then, we'll be good to go, but we're making sure we do our best to be in that top group come Christmas time."
EXPECTED UPS AND DOWNS
"Anyone knows that when you go into football management, there are good and bad points over a season. We allowed ourselves to have this little blip and this little run by having some good form early on.
"That will return. There is no coincidence that we're missing some really big players. We're probably missing more A-lister players than any team in the league. But we have to allow for that; we have to cope with that, and we have to make sure we're dealing with the situation until the window."
PAUL RAYNOR
"I have spoken to Paul every day. As people can imagine, he's having some personal tough times at the moment in terms of how he is feeling, but is hopeful that he can be with us tomorrow up in the stands watching. I will have to temper that by saying it depends on how he's feeling."
SHREWSBURY TOWN PREVIEW
"The fact that anyone can go to Bludell Park and win - I know that's the result that sticks out. If you're a Grimsby fan, I know they have lost a couple of away games in recent times, but the one that sticks out to them is Shrewsbury at home, and anyone that can beat a Salford team who are full of A-lister players for the level tells us in their own right that they are a decent side.
"I watched a full rerun of the recent home game against Colchester. Colchester equalised with the last kick of the ball, but Shrewsbury should have been out of sight. That tells me alone because we played a really good Colchester side here. So, it tells me that Shrewsbury will be a decent opposition tomorrow."
MEMORIES OF BEATING SHREWSBURY ON NEW YEAR'S DAY
"It was a fantastic day. I think we played particularly well. We dominated the ball, and we dominated a lot, and we could have won by more. But tomorrow is a different game altogether, and different players on both sides of the pitch. It's a game where we recognise that we have to go there and be at the top of our game to come back from Shrewsbury with a point or more."
ELLIS HARRISON
"It was never in doubt that Ellis was going to stay. He lives five minutes from the training ground. I was catching up with him in the week, and he wants to be around here to probably see his lifetime out here. That's his view. He's come out of Newport and become a Bristol boy on the blue side.
"There was never a doubt that Ellis was going to be around. He's an infectious character, and we love having him around."
