Shrewsbury can '100%' turn season round - McDermott

Tommy McDermott began his career with Port Vale before joining Burnley in August 2024

Shrewsbury Town midfielder Tommy McDermott said the League Two strugglers can "100% turn around" their poor start to the season.

The on-loan Burnley player returns to the squad for Saturday's trip to Barnet after serving a three-game suspension in the league after getting sent off in Salop's 2-0 defeat by Colchester on 16 August.

In his absence, Shrewsbury lost twice and drew with Accrington Stanley. They sit second bottom in the table, with two points from their first six league games.

"It's been a tough start to the season but the lads are more than capable - we've got more than enough talent in the group to overturn it," McDermott told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"The way we've been playing in recent games, despite the results, has been positive and there's lots we can build on.

"We know what we've got in the dressing room, the team can 100% turn this around."

'The gaffer wants us to be aggressive'

McDermott, 20, was boss Michael Appleton's eighth signing of the summer but his league debut for the club ended with a 65th-minute red card after a tackle on Colchester's Teddy Bishop.

Although he has been forced to sit-out away defeats by Notts County and Swindon Town, and a goalless draw with Accrington, McDermott has played in two cup ties and scored his first Shrewsbury goal in the 3-1 win over Chelsea Under-21 in the Vertu Trophy - the club's only win this season.

McDermott said his ban has given him a bit of a lesson on the differences between playing youth football for Burnley and life in the English Football League.

"There are things you can get away with in 21s football that you can't in men's football," he said.

"They're more experienced and know when to make a show out of a tackle.

"So it's a case of not taming [enthusiasm] because I feel I can see the game well, it's just knowing when I can and can't do certain things.

"The gaffer wants us to be aggressive and get up to people. We don't want to be an easy team to play against, so we need that in our game."