'It is blatantly obvious' - Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill makes honest admission before Portsmouth visit as injuries take their toll

Salop welcome the Blues to Greenhous Meadow in League One today with a selection dilemma.

The hosts go into the game with Dan Udoh, George Nurse (both ACL injuries) and Tim Bayliss (ankle ligaments) all ruled out. Ryan Bowman will also be absent following his red card in Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Barnsley. Meanwhile, doubts remain over the availability of Rekeil Pyke (Achilles) and former Pompey triallist Christian Saydee (knee).

For a team that has afforded league starts to just 20 players this season, that limits their options for a game Cotterill would love to win.

Yet the former Blues and Sunderland boss confessed that’s the risk you take when you deliberately reduce the size of their playing squad in order to accommodate better players on higher wages.

Speaking about his side’s current injury worries, the 58-year-old told shropshirestar.com: ‘Sometimes, maybe your luck runs out, and our luck with regards to the injuries has really run out.

‘They are going to hurt you. Dan Udoh, 50 odd games last year 16 goals. George Nurse 50 odd games last year.

‘Tom Bayliss, ankle ligaments, out now and won’t start playing until pre-season, we cannot get by with those numbers.

‘What we have done is push it as far as we can. We have pushed it, and pushed it, and we have to carry on doing that. The lads will carry on doing it.

‘It is blatantly obvious, but you have to have a smaller squad here to get better players.

‘Otherwise, you have the 29 that I had when I came in here, and you can be bottom of the league with eight points and look like they are going to finish that season with an average of 33 or 34 points.’

Heading into today’s game against Pompey, 11th-placed Shrewsbury have nine players with 28-plus League One starts under their belts this term.

Their strategy has them on course to record their highest league placing since finishing third in 2017-18, with Cotterill’s men above the Blues for large chunks of the season before their current four-match losing streak.

Pompey have named 27 different players in League One starting XIs this season.

Only Colby Bishop (40), Sean Raggett (40), Connor Ogilvie (38) and Owen Dale (35) have made more than 28 League One starts this term.