NSIALA: WE CAN SURVIVE SQUEAKY WEEKS
BULLISH defender Aristote Nsiala is convinced Shrewsbury will escape the League One relegation zone in the final weeks of the season.
Heading into the weekend, the Shrews occupied a position in the bottom four and found themselves two points from safety.
But 25-year-old Nsiala, who has one cap for the Democratic Republic of Congo, insists he isn’t giving any thought to the prospect of his side dropping down to League Two.
“It’s not going to happen. It’s something none of us, as players want, or the manager,” said Nsiala.
“It’s always squeaky down at the bottom – and at the top – at this time of the season.
“It’s about staying calm and doing the job. We have lost the last few games, but that doesn’t mean we are going to lose the games that are coming up.
“A lot of teams, when they get to this stage, go down, but not because of the way they play.
“It’s because the changing room is not together and players may fix up plans for the next season.
“I don’t get that sense from the lads. We win and we lose together. We have just got to keep going.”
After Paul Hurst took over as Shrewsbury manager in October, he made Nsiala, who had played under him at Grimsby, his first January signing.
And the defender is relishing working with Hurst once again.
“He’s calm. He never loses his head,” said Nsiala.
“He’s still out there smiling and speaking to you as if you were winning games, and he tries to keep everyone together.
“That’s the main thing. You don’t want a manger to pick the players apart as that is just going to drag you down.
“He’s tried to keep the same spirit from when I came in.”