Football
No Panic! George Lloyd Confident Shrewsbury Will Turn the Tide
George Lloyd remains optimistic that Shrewsbury Town can overcome their poor start to the season, emphasizing performances and team morale as key to improving results in League One.
Image Credits: James Baylis - AMA/Getty Images
George Lloyd stressed Shrewsbury are up for the fight despite their sorry start to the season.
The Shrews have suffered seven defeats in their opening nine games with a 3-0 rout of Leyton Orient and a draw against Rotherham, relegated from the Championship last term, their only points so far during the campaign.
Shrewsbury’s Struggles on Paper
It has been a torrid run of fixtures on paper with losses to Peterborough, Huddersfield, Wrexham, Mansfield and Stockport County — who are all tipped to finish around the play-offs at the very least — no disgrace.
Town were booed off at full-time after their 2-0 defeat to Stockport, their third straight home game without a win.
But the 24-year-old believes danger will be averted once Paul Hurst’s side start converting their performances into points.
“I think we have shown in parts that we can be good,” Lloyd told SportsBoom.com.
Mixed Performances, Positive Mindsets
“It’s been a mixed start; obviously, we would have wanted more points on the board, but we have put in decent performances at times.”
“Players have been good and in a good mind frame. No one is feeling down for themselves, and it has been a good start to the season in terms of performances in parts.”
“It’s just about knitting it together now, and I don’t think we are a million miles away now; it’s just small things.”
“I really do think we are close to putting in a decent 90-minute performance.”
“It’s all about performances all the time, and the points will come.”
Sometimes when the performances aren’t great, it’s then about grinding out results. whether that is a 0-0 or 1-1, it's constantly thinking let’s get points on the board.
George Lloyd
Relishing the Challenge in League One
Lloyd was a free transfer from Cheltenham Town in the summer as he linked up with Hurst and assistant Chris Doig, who he spent a loan spell with at Grimsby Town, once again.
Despite the calamitous campaign so far, Lloyd is relishing the chance to showcase his talents in League One.
He added: “I have really enjoyed my time and everyone at the club.”
“The club is run by good people, and obviously, I know the gaffer and Chris Doig from my time at Grimsby, and I loved working with them there and that’s carried on here.”
“I have a smile on my face all the time, and coming to training, I know it's going to be enjoyable and fun, and that’s all you can ask for as a footballer to just enjoy what you do.”
“I have never been one to set long-term targets, and I think there are so many variables that can go wrong.”
“I could say to you now that I want to score 15 goals, and then I could go and get injured for six months, so it’s just unrealistic.”
Focus on the present, Not Long-Term Goals
“It’s just a game-by-game basis; you could have a game where you don’t get a chance, and you could have a game where you have five.”
“You can’t set long-term targets personally. As a team, you obviously want to do better, and we want to stay up.”
“At the same time there is no point saying we want to get three wins in the next five as there are so many variables which can go wrong.”
Shane is an experienced sports journalist with over a decade on the front line, covering everything from football to horse racing. A familiar face in the snooker pressroom, his work regularly appears in the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, and Daily Star, alongside SportsBoom.
While snooker is where many readers know him best, cricket is his true sporting passion, though he tends to keep that side of him separate from his professional beat.
A staunch traditionalist, he’s unlikely to share your enthusiasm if you believe The Hundred is the future of Test cricket.