Don't write us off at Molineux, says Shrewsbury boss Sam Ricketts

Town and Wolves will do it again in the FA Cup fourth round, this time at Molineux, next week after Saturday’s dramatic 2-2 draw at the Meadow.

Ricketts says his charges have been given no opportunity home and away against Stoke in the previous round as well as on Saturday in front of a packed house. But Salop have impressed on all three occasions and the boss warned punters and experts to discount his side at their peril.

“Everyone wrote us off after we drew Stoke here,” said Ricketts. “They said ‘they’ve got to go to the Bet365 now, they’re going to get turned over there’.

“At 2-0 down everyone was thinking ‘yeah, told you so’. No, no, you wait for 90 minutes before you write us off.”

The boss continued: “We got written off today, we get written off in an awful lot of games. But the players are putting in performances which give you chances at results. We just have to turn those draws into wins.

“It can (fire players up). You sometimes use quotes from opposition or whichever.

“But ultimately belief has to come from belief, from the team when they walk on the pitch. There’s a big difference going out hoping and expecting to win. The performance level’s been excellent – we just have to maintain that.”

Town have a couple of crucial League One games before the reply, beginning at fellow lowly side Bradford at Valley Parade.

Ricketts was boosted by the inclusion of Shaun Whalley after a hamstring injury as the winger was able to play the final 10 minutes against Wolves. “He makes an impact, doesn’t he?” The boss added. “He’s a very, very good player. He came on and showed flashes of his ability.

“You’re always a little bit worried when he’s coming back from injury as we’ve tried to ease him in, he did very well when he came on.”