Cowan happy to deal with raised expectation levels

Shrewsbury Town head coach Gavin Cowan said he and his squad have had to "understand" and cope with increased expectation levels around the club in the midst of their superb run of form.

Salop have won their past five games on the bounce in League Two to pull well clear of the relegation trouble that surrounded the club when Cowan replaced Michael Appleton at the end of January.

As the prepare for the visit of out-of-form Walsall on Saturday, Cowan said recent results had had a huge impact on confidence.

"Yeah, really good, and obviously we want to try and prolong that for as long as we can," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"The lads are really buoyant, it's a stark contrast to when we came in four weeks ago.

"I'm just really pleased that we've managed to drive the energy of the club and the supporters.

"We want to try and prolong that, and try and be the best version of ourselves for every game.

"So I think what all fans wanted was to see the players playing for the shirt. So yeah, I'm really proud of them. I'm really, really pleased with how it's gone."

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Wins over Barrow, Swindon Town, Notts County, Accrington and Salford City have catapulted Shrewsbury from two points above the relegation zone in 22nd to 17th and 12 points clear of trouble.

Cowan said he was not necessarily expecting to make such an immediate impact.

"It was definitely the hope, but we try to play quite strategic and make everything by design, and the lads have implemented it really well," he said.

"We want to win every game, but now everybody will be saying, 'Surely, they're due a loss,' but we don't feel like we need to have that.

"We don't get too carried away with what's happened, and we're not looking too far in the future. We just want to be the best version of ourselves against a big team like Walsall.

"I understand people now, from four weeks ago, have a higher expectation because of what we've achieved, but ultimately we have to go and do it.

"So regardless of expectations, they're all out of my control and the players' control.

"We understand, moving forward over the season, we might not be [our best] every week, but [we] want to be competitive."

Burgoyne to replace Jensen as goalkeeper coach

Cowan also confirmed that the club have appointed Harry Burgoyne as goalkeeper coach following the departure of Brian Jensen in early February.

Burgoyne, 29, played for Shrewsbury between January 2020 and July 2024, making 39 appearances, and has signed a deal until the end of the season.

The move follows a one-off coaching stint for former England and Salop keeper Joe Hart, who worked with Matt Cox and Will Brook before Tuesday's win at Salford.