Mellon: We kept the belief

Micky Mellon insisted his in-form Shrewsbury side have achieved nothing yet after a comfortable 2-0 win over Mansfield.

An unstoppable shot from midfielder Bobby Grant, on loan from Blackpool, just before the hour mark was added to by an eighth goal of the season from top scorer James Collins 15 minutes from time. Shrewsbury were in total control throughout with Mansfield's cause not helped by losing midfielder Jamie McGuire to a red card for two quick bookings after just 30 minutes. "We've been consistently putting in performances and maybe not getting results at certain times earlier on," said Mellon, reflecting on his side's blistering run of form which has lifted them from 13th place up to second spot in the League Two table. "But we believed if we kept doing the things that we thought would give you some success, i.e, winning games, that eventually it would happen. "But we've done nothing yet except pick up another three points to add to the tally that we already have so we won't get carried away. "We know there's an awful lot of work to be done and there's standards that we have to continually keep meeting all the time." Mellon was pleased with the patience his men showed in making their extra man count against a Mansfield side now without a win in eight games. He added: "We knew it was going to be difficult to break down a well organised Mansfield side so we just knew we had to hang in there because we know that we've got good athletes and good footballers. "Eventually, we believed that they would represent us and get us the result we got so in the end I'm absolutely delighted at a fantastic three points for us." Mansfield boss Paul Cox, whose side were indebted to some fine saves from Sascha Studer for not losing more heavily, admitted Shrewsbury made the most of their numerical advantage. "I thought they made the man count very well against us and just kept the ball and just ground us down," he said. "The first goal was a massive killer for us because, although they had a lot of possession, I never really thought they were going to really hurt us." Cox added: "We were playing against a side that are good in possession. I said prior to the game that I think they'll be up there in that top three come the end of the season. "I can't blame our work ethic, I think the players were working hard, but we've got to work a little bit smarter."