Next four games vital - Coughlan

Graham Coughlan is disappointed by Shrewsbury's away results (Getty)

Shrewsbury Town defender Graham Coughlan believes Town's next four league games will define their season.

Town have won just once in seven games to drop to ninth in League Two.

But Paul Simpson's men are still only two points off an automatic promotion place. And three of Shrewsbury's next four games are at home.

"It's disappointing to find ourselves ninth. Hopefully over the next four games we'll pick up 10 points, " Coughlan told BBC Shropshire.

"We're a little disappointed we haven't been able to kill teams off."

In what looks an incredibly promotion tussle (eight sides between third and 10th are currently separated by just two points), Gillingham and Exeter leap frogged over Shrewsbury into the play-off places with midweek victories.

But, despite the fact that five of Shrewsbury's next seven games are at home, Coughlan reckons that the key will be how they perform away from Oteley Road over the final four months of the season.

Town have only lost four times on their travels but the fact they have won just once away from home has proved a telling factor.

Only six League Two sides have picked up less away points than Simpson's men. And, ahead of the trip to Barnet next Tuesday night (27 January) which follows Saturday's home date with Darlington, Coughlan admits that they need to improve on the road.

"We're itching to sort our away form out" he said. "We're not doing too much wrong. "We're more or less doing what we plan. We're just not winning away from home".