Shrewsbury Town boss Steve Cotterill admits he is disappointed with his side's season so far and they may have hit 'rock bottom' after exiting the Carabao Cup following a loss to League Two side Rochdale.

Town suffered a 2-0 loss against opposition who currently sit 15th in the league below them. To make matters worse, Shrewsbury defender Matt Pennington received a red card in the 67th minute as he gave Rochdale a penalty which they scored. The extra man for The Dale proved to be the difference as the side then went on to score another goal just nine minutes later to secure the win.

This result is the continuation of a bleak start for The Shrews who after six games are yet to pick up a win, having lost five of their matches and they currently sit bottom of League One.

Cotterill assessed his side's start and confessed it is just not happening for them at the moment. He told the Shropshire Star: "There a few of those [tough nights] at the moment. It's not dropping for us at the moment.

"We could've done with getting our noses in front, another bright start, did ok, and then the confidence seems to wane a little when we don't score.

"Then it can look like lads aren't doing enough when their confidence gets short. That's how it looks, just like that, that they're not doing enough.

"Until you've ever been out there you can't quite understand how they feel, and that is how they feel at the moment."

The Shrewsbury boss acknowledged that his team are in a bad place but remains hopeful that things will pick up for his side.

He said: "Maybe that needed to happen to us to hit rock bottom, because it hasn't been a very good start to the season.

"I feel for them, because I think they're all honest lads. It's tough for them at the moment, what they've got to do is stick together, we carry on doing the work we've done and hope that starts to change for us."

The Verdict:

There is no shying away from how disappointing this season has been for the Salop so far and the side will have to start picking up some points soon to avoid spending the season battling to stay safe in the league.

With only two goals scored this season compared to eleven conceded, Shrewsbury need to improve at both ends of the pitch as a matter of urgency otherwise any reward from upcoming games may be few and far between.

Despite already making a few signings this summer, Cotterill may feel it necessary to make a couple more additions to help his squad strengthen in front of both goals before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.