"Sheffield Wednesday are in this league for a reason.." Shrewsbury Town defender eyes upset ahead of Hillsborough trip

Steve Cotterill’s side arrive fourth-bottom in the League One table having picked up only one win in their seven league matches so far. And they’re eyeing a win over an Owls team determined to bounce back from coupon-busting back-to-back defeats at both Morecambe and Plymouth Argyle.

Much has been made of the difficulty of the third tier this time out. Former Shrews defender Dominic Iorfa admitted that his Wednesday side had honest conversations about a sub-par performance on the south coast and maintained wrongs would be righted at S6 this time out.

Shrewsbury defender Aaron Pierre hopes to catch them cold, however.

“Every year, this league becomes more competitive with more technical ability and aggression,” Pierre said.

“Sheffield Wednesday are in this league for a reason and we have to treat every game the same way. We will always conduct ourselves in the best way possible to win games.”

Darren Moore’s men are building a new Wednesday and are teasing-in the ability to ‘play from the back’ as he did in his previous regimes at West Brom and Doncaster Rovers.

Asked about that, Pierre commented that he knew that style of play was becoming more prevalent in the third tier and that his side would have to combat it. A win against Sheffield Wednesday, he thinks, can act as a springboard for the rest of their season.

“The level of this league is always increasing and teams are trying to play how Premier League teams play,” he said. “Eventually, all teams will be looking to play out from the back with technical football.

“This free week has been good to do some tactical stuff. We want to get momentum going and we are making sure we are prepared for the game. Hopefully, on Saturday, you will see what we've been working on.

“We will go into the game with high energy and full focus. Despite where we are in the table, we have to keep believing and keep showing we have something to prove. Hopefully our quality will blossom on Saturday and carry on into the season.”