Grimsby Town captain Craig Disley admits he has a point to prove when he faces former club Shrewsbury Town in the Emirates FA Cup second round on Monday.
Disley was a fans’ favourite at Mansfield Town and Bristol Rovers before enduring a tricky two-year spell with the Shrews.
The 34-year-old moved to Blundell Park in 2011 and has gone on to make more than 200 appearances for the National League side.
Grimsby Town v Shrewsbury Town
The Emirates FA Cup
Second Round Proper
7.45pm, Monday 7 November 2015
Blundell Park, Grimsby Town FC
Winners receive £27,000 from prize fund
Live on BT Sport
He said: “Shrewsbury is probably the only place I have been in my career where I don’t think I did myself justice in the two years I was there.
“I probably had my whole career’s worth of injuries in my two years at Shrewsbury, so missed a lot of football.
“In my second year I started the season well, got injured again and then found myself out of favour and didn’t get back in so it was a disappointing way to finish my time there.
“I feel I have a little bit to prove to the fans there and it is a big game for us all.”
Craig Disley in action for Shrewsbury in 2010
Indeed, The Cup holds one of the highlights of Disley’s career to date when Bristol Rovers reached the last eight in 2008, before being knocked out by West Bromwich Albion.
He added: “For a League One club to get to the quarter finals is a great achievement and I have had some good cup runs so hopefully we can have another.
“We know we will be the underdogs and they are a very good side but we have only lost one in 17 games and anything can happen.
“It will be a tight game but we will go into it full of confidence and see how we get on.”
Shrewsbury, meanwhile, are 19th in League One but their results have picked up of late and in James Collins they have a man in form.
The 25-year-old has three goals in his last five games and he is eager to keep the good times rolling at Grimsby’s expense.
Shrewsbury's in-form James Collins
“I can’t put my finger on why I have been on a good run,” said Collins. “Goals always give you confidence and once you get the first goal, you are confident you can score every week.
“I always try to go into every game thinking I am going to score and I think that is part of the reason for the form. I am thankful they are going in at the minute.
“Clubs live and die by their strikers. If they are scoring goals then nine times out of ten they are winning games so I am hopeful I can keep scoring the goals and getting the results for the team.
“The FA Cup is always a great competition to play in. Facing Grimsby will be a difficult task but the way we are playing at the moment, we should have every confidence that we can win and progress.”
