Boss pleased with the contribution of his subs as we held on for all three points at Shrewsbury.

Steve Davis says the circumstances at Shrewsbury at the weekend demonstrated the importance of having substitutes ready to step in at a moments’ notice.

The Alex boss and his coaching staff altered our playing system at half-time to match up with Shrewsbury’s usage of their tried and tested 3-5-2 formation, which meant that Brad Inman had to be sacrificed for another centre-half.

Jon Guthrie came on at the interval to make it three centre-halves, but then we lost Ben Nugent through injury and thus had to bring George Ray on as well at the back.

The club’s Canada International Marcus Haber also played his part in the 1-0 win, holding the ball up and bringing others into play after he replaced the hard working Lauri Dalla Valle with 24 minutes to play.

Steve Davis told the club’s official web-site: “It wasn’t the easiest game to come into at Shrewsbury because they had more of the ball than us but I thought the substitutes adjusted well and played their part in the victory.

“All three of our subs have been in the team before. They are not newcomers and they want to be starting the game as much as those that are in the team at the moment.

“What their contribution did show was the importance of having a strong squad. I took 20 players to the game with Ryan Wintle and Callum Ainley also travelling for the experience and I think it is important to keep that group of 18/20 players together.

He added: “The subs understand that they may be needed at any moment, either tactically or when we need to make a change because of an injury.”