Shrews boss hoping to keep Woods

BATTLE FOR THE BALL: Shrews star Ryan Woods (left) tussles with Athletic’s David Dunn in last month’s meeting

SHREWSBURY boss Micky Mellon is hopeful he can get through today without fielding a single enquiry about star midfield anchor Ryan Woods.

The 21-year-old youth team product attracted two refused bids from West Ham in January, and ahead of tonight’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy clash at home to Athletic, Mellon will pray the phone doesn’t ring before the 6pm transfer deadline.

“I’ve not had a single phone call about Woods, which of course I welcome,” Mellon said. “You want to keep your best players, that’s for sure, so we will continue to try to do that.”

Whether Woods starts tonight is open to question, as the Shrews look to bounce back from successive defeats.

After taking the lead at Selhurst Park, it wasn’t until extra time that Crystal Palace were able to see off the League One side 4-1 in the second round of the Capital One Cup a week ago.

There was a hangover result-wise, as Mellon’s side followed that with a 1-0 home loss to Burton.

But the performance was positive for the Scot: “I thought we were the better side, but at times we looked a little bit tired, and we had to keep the lads going at times,” Mellon said.

“Anyone who was here would say it was harsh that we finished with nothing from the game.”