Former Cobblers player of the year Pierre in line for Shrews return

Former Cobblers player of the year Aaron Pierre is in line to face his old club when Shrewsbury Town visit the PTS Academy Stadium on Good Friday (ko 3pm).
Shrewsbury Town defender Aaron PierreShrewsbury Town defender Aaron Pierre
Shrewsbury Town defender Aaron Pierre

Pierre was sold to the Shrews in the summer of 2019, a matter of weeks after the big central defender was revealed to be the supporters’ pick as Town’s top man of the 2018/19 season.

The 28-year-old has yet to face the Cobblers since leaving the club, but is set to return for the Shrews tomorrow, having recovered from a calf injury that has seen him miss the past two months of action.

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Pierre returned to full training last week and is pushing for a recall, with the Shrews having won just two of their past eight matches, a run that has seen them slip out of the promotion play-off race.

Aaron Pierre spent two years at the CobblersAaron Pierre spent two years at the Cobblers
Aaron Pierre spent two years at the Cobblers

Pierre spent two years with the Cobblers, having been signed by Justin Edinburgh in the summer of 2017, making 68 appearances for the club and scoring eight goals.

Shrewsbury, who lost 2-1 to Portsmouth last weekend, are also expected to welcome back skipper Ollie Norburn after a two-match ban and first-choice goalkeeper Matija Sarkic who missed the past two games as he was on international duty with Montenegro.

Shrewsbury are facing a hectic end to the season, as their clash with the Cobblers is the first of 11 matches they have to play in the final six weeks of the campaign.

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Manager Steve Cotterill won’t be at the PTS as he is still recovering from being severely struck down by Covid-19, so the team will be led by former Milton Keynes Dons striker Aaron Wilbraham, who is assistant boss at the New Meadow.

Shrews are one of only a handful of teams in League One that effectively have nothing to play for as they sit 11 points off the play-offs and 10 points above the bottom four, but they are still targeting a strong finish to their season, starting with the clash against the Cobblers.

“Northampton are a really hard-working team and they battle for each other,” said Wilbraham.

“They’ve picked up some results recently and it’s another tough match in League One - as is every game.

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“We have to go there with the same type of attitude as we have done in previous away games. Hopefully we get the right result. We always want to bounce back after defeat and that’s what we are looking to do away from home.

“We need to concentrate on what we do best and work hard for each other. We need to play the football that we know we can play.”

Cobblers boss Jon Brady took time out during the pre-match press briefing to send his best wishes to Cotterill, who has twice been hospitalised after being severely hit by Covid-19.

Cotterill was only released from his second stay in hospital a fortnight ago, but is reportedly now well on the mend.

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""I would like to pass my best regards on to Steve Cotterill," said Brady.

"I have played against his teams when I was a player, and I just want to send him the best wishes for a speedy recovery from all of our staff."

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