There's lot of hope out there - Shrews boss Cowan

After helping the club to safety, Gavin Cowan signed a new contract until at least the summer of 2028 [Getty Images] Shrewsbury Town boss Gavin Cowan has asked the League Two club's supporters to be optimistic about the coming campaign. They have had little to cheer in the past two seasons, other than fighting off a second successive relegation in the last campaign. The Shrews picked up 27 points from 19 games after Cowan's appointment in January to preserve their EFL status. And the former Brackley boss now believes they can afford to harbour hope after a "really positive pre-season". "I'm asking them to be optimistic, I'm not trying to give any false promises, but there's a lot of hope out there when you see the types of players that we've got," he told BBC Radio Shropshire. "We're young, we're athletic, we're mobile and they're willing to learn." Cowan said the club "are doing everything" to strengthen the squad despite being restricted to loan players and free agents after an EFL-imposed transfer fee ban during the summer window. "I'm working really hard to get people in the building and the club are on board with that, we just have to go through certain channels of how they're going to work it," he said. "We're all working together to try to get the best possible squad, and I feel like two more players in the building, possibly three depending on the relationships we can get with clubs that are at a higher level, and that could put us in a really positive place." Shrewsbury begin their season with a Carabao Cup tie away to Salford on Saturday, before their League Two campaign gets under way at Tranmere seven days later. All the latest Shrewsbury Town news