Michael Appleton discusses his future and responds to ‘sacked in the morning’ chants from fans as Shrewsbury lost 3-0 to Bristol Rovers.
He said remains determined to stay positive and motivate his players as they face a relegation battle in League Two, with Rovers leapfrogging them in the table.
The result sees Salop sit 22nd with 19 points, just above the bottom two, a fourth straight defeat, and a winless run extended to nine games since beating Newport County back in mid-November.
Interviewer: Well, Michael, it’s the worst possible start to the new year with a 3-0 home defeat against a team very close to you in the League Two table. Quite simply, how do you sum that up after that this afternoon?
Appleton: Well, it depends if I do it from an emotional point of view or a logical point of view, I suppose. I think from an emotional point of view, certainly the first goal was a little bit of a calamity situation that certainly we could have dealt with better, clearly.
And obviously the other two goals were, you know, from us trying to press, trying to get the equaliser, a little bit of desperation from them, etc. So that’s the emotional side of it.
The logical side of it is that up until that goal, we’ve had the two big, big chances in the game, one-on-ones, and unfortunately not been able to take them and got badly punished.
Interviewer: Always like it to be one of those days where the first goal took on extra added significance, I guess, to teams who were struggling for results.
Appleton: Yeah, no, absolutely. And to be fair, though, it’s been like that for a while.
Let’s face it, you know, without sort of going over old ground, the reality is when we have scored the first goal, we haven’t lost so far this season. So it is a big part of it.
And that goal, it’s not that we’ve not had opportunities to do that. I think in a lot of the games that we’ve gone behind first, we’ve had big, big chances and not been able to take them. And obviously today was another one of those situations.
And the problem is now compared to maybe ten games or so ago, or maybe longer, we’re deeper into the season, there’s less teams in terms of around us where instead of looking up, you’re always looking down, etc. So anxiety plays a part in that.
So it’s one of those situations where, you know, finding a way is one thing, having the sort of courage and the mentality to be able to do that is the other thing.
Interviewer: Does the matter of that opening goal just add to the disappointment, the sense of frustration?
Appleton: That’s what I just said then off-camera. Like I said, it’s more probably the way it happened rather than going a goal behind in a game. You know, if you smash one in from 30 yards or a little bit of individual brilliance, I think it has less effect on the whole scenario, the whole team, the whole stadium.
But there’s still plenty of time in the game after that. Unfortunately, we’ve had to go for it a little bit to try and get ourselves back into the game, which obviously leaves you wide open at times on the counter from an option point of view.
Again, we were a little bit limited, as you’re aware, and it didn’t give us that opportunity to have as big an influence once they went in front than we really would have liked.
Interviewer: Not helped, of course, by losing Anthony Scully to injury early on as well. How is he?
Appleton: Yeah, it looks like it’s an hamstring injury. These are the things that happen and these are the things that people don’t want to hear you really talk about, so I’m not going to use excuses, but they are part of the reason, I suppose.
Obviously, in recent big games, especially at home, Anthony’s played a big part in the successes that we’ve had, and to lose him after 10 minutes or so was a big blow.
Interviewer: So much disappointment, so much anger around the stadium, especially in those closing stages and at the end of the game. How do you cope with that? Are you beginning to become concerned? Do you feel under pressure for your own position, for example, the way the results are going?
Appleton: I’ve felt under pressure from about three games in, so that hasn’t changed. The reality is we’re in a position that we don’t want to be in, and I don’t certainly want to be in.
So, is the pressure intensified? Probably, and rightly so. You’ve known me long enough now that I’m not going to shy away from anything. I completely understand it, I completely get it, and the frustrations at times obviously can boil over, but it’s football, it’s the world we live in these days, and they’re disappointed to lose such a big game today against a team, like you say, that are so close to us.
I understand people’s frustrations, but this is not the first time we’ve been in this type of situation. I’ve got to stay positive, I’ve got to try and help the players and try and somehow motivate them to challenge themselves every single day and try and look forward to some of the games that we’ve got coming up, because we’ve got a very, very tough game on Sunday against a side that are doing very well in the league. It’s a club that’s very close to me in terms of my upbringing, etc.
So, yes, a new face in the building with Iwan, potentially one or two more, that would give everyone a little bit of a lift and you never know.
Interviewer: Do you still feel then you can still turn this difficult run of results around? It’s four defeats on the spin, it’s no winning in eight now in the league?
Appleton: Well, I do, but it doesn’t matter what I think, does it? It doesn’t matter what I think.
Interviewer: You mentioned the fact you’ve got a player in already, Iwan Morgan, who’s just come in on loan, he’s going to be involved straight away this weekend. Do you think there’s any chance there might be further business done?
Appleton: Potentially, and I certainly hope so. That’s the idea. I know we’re super close on two. Whether they get done in time for Sunday is a whole new thing, but definitely beyond Sunday we’ll certainly be in a healthier position in terms of the squad and the numbers in the squad and probably more importantly the quality in the squad, which is important. So, let’s see what happens over the next 24-48 hours.
Interviewer: Not helped, of course, by having no Tom Sang and Josh Ruffles too. Is there any chance they could be part of it at Salford?
Appleton: Josh looks very unlikely because of the situation with his calf. Obviously Sang is ill, so we haven’t really seen him since Grimsby. He’s been ill. We thought he’d be able to recover for today’s game, but unfortunately he’s not been able to. That extra bit of time that he’s had, hopefully he’ll be available for the Salford game, but sometimes when you’ve got a little bit of flu-type symptoms it can take a lot out of your body, so we’ll just wait to hear from him on that one.
Interviewer: Elyh Harrison, there were some reports over the last 24 hours or so that he has been or is going to be recalled by Manchester United. He’s clearly still here, he was on the bench today. How’s that likely to play out, do you think, in the next few days, weeks?
Appleton: It’s likely it’s going to happen because there’s a break in most loans in January, and the indications that we’re getting and the conversations that we had are that he’s likely to get recalled.
Interviewer: Just a final one for me, Michael. Just looking at the bigger picture, you walked into the club at the end of March when relegation was almost a certainty from League One. The hope was it was going to be a reset in the summer and results would start to pick up at a lower level, they haven’t. Can you put your finger on why it hasn’t happened? Did you think you’d be much higher than where you are in the league table at this stage of the campaign, just past the halfway stage?
Appleton: I was certainly hoping to be much higher. Obviously, there’s so many factors that are at play. I touched on style, formations, budgets, all those type of things. There’s so many things at play.
Listen, I’ll let people make their own mind up and their own decisions. I can only affect what I can control and I’ll continue to do that.
As long as I’m preparing right, doing everything I can, I can look myself in the mirror knowing, at least I’ve given myself and the club and everyone at the football club an opportunity and a chance to do something positive. If the opinion is very different, then so be it.
Here’s the Twitter reaction after Michael Appleton discusses his future and chants from fans…
@janepittaway777: Diabolical from top to bottom. The Board, the coaching staff, the players, the security firm. How the hell do we move forward in a positive way 🤷🏻♀️🤔🤨
@Bristoliang1en: Feel sorry for you guys. I genuinely hope you survive this season, and at some point, a sale goes through. All the best for the rest of the season.
@mozzerstfc: My opinion hasn’t changed from when we were relegated last season, we will do well to survive in League 2. The squad is nowhere near good enough and the manager has not provided anything to galvanise the team or derive effective tactics. Need a miracle now.
@93_price: Absolute EVERYTHING at #salop needs to change. The owner is a joke, the manager is a joke, the players are a joke. The anger from the first goal onwards should make the club realise this. It probably won’t. But it should before the club dies @shrewsburytown. So yesterday, for the first time I can remember, ‘Sacked in the morning’ and ‘Roland time to go’ were chanted simultaneously during the same abject afternoon at #salop. Most clubs would act today in some way so over to you @shrewsburytown. Or…don’t bother and bury your head in the sand as ever…#salop
@pacificpaddy:
Wycherley’s to do list…
1) Ask Liam to work on an email for the plebs about club sale
2) Invoice BRFC for 1 x matchball
3) Think of a hilarious/rude comment I can make about Wolves for the Daily Mail
4) Congratulate MA for today’s effort to put off bidders
5) Polish MBE #Salop
@theshrew88: I usually back a #salop Manager but after today Appleton needs to go and half of this WOEFUL squad needs to go too after Walsall i thought we might have started to improve but 4 defeats in a row (2 of them against teams who haven’t won for ages) is SACKING material GET HIM GONE
@DryHeaves83: Good luck for the rest of the season , it’s been a horror show for us as you probably know , we know how it feels. Decent supporters you guys , hope you can turn it around. ( apart from against us )
@anth0ny_m: Time to go Appleton. Absolutely abysmal manager. Take your hands out your pickets and do something you bald fraud. As for MBE. No words. Just sell up now.
@oliverhowells5: Roland you have strangled this club to death! Blood on your hands. Shit manager, no heart from anyone! Club is in one dire situation. Roland Wycherley you saved the club you said you were a supporter of. You have now put us in a worse situation. From saviour to killer. #salop
@THEMACHOPEAS: Sack the lot of them
@Baldedbeast64: Just remember Shrews fans its very tight down there and you are still in it. Bottom 2 are very poor. If Marquis had out that post one away our heads would have dropped and you prob would have won 2 or 3 -0. Fine lines. Keep working hard. It will come. Maybe not with this manager.
@GeorgeMurfet_: How have you boys still not sacked him 😂. Nearly sent us to league two, you’ll be in the national league under that fraud
@anth0ny_m: Honestly unbelievable this man is still in a job. 4 wins in 24 games!! We are sleepwalking into the National League. Wake up.
@LoyalSalopian86: STFC has become a retirement stable for useless, past it players looking for one last pay day on their way out of the EFL, run by a basket case, out of touch, way past his sell by date owner. Will there be an STFC in 10 years time?
#rolandout #salop #shrewsburytown #enoughisenough pic.twitter.com/1LfpGdgxdj
— toby_stfc (@StfcToby) January 2, 2026
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