Wycombe face strugglers Shrewsbury this Saturday, making the 138 mile trip up the M40.
They come up against a familiar face, too. That being former manager Gareth Ainsworth, who took the reigns at the Shropshire-based club after they sacked Paul Hurst in November, following a far from satisfying start, only winning one out of their past 12, the breaking point being Shrewsbury’s FA Cup loss against League Two side, Salford City. Ainsworth stepped in shortly after, having taken a years leave of absence from the game after being sacked by QPR.
Wycombe fans will likely give Gareth a positive reception in the moments before kick-off, with the 51-year-old manager taking the Wanderers as high as the Championship during his 11-year spell in charge of the blues, the first time in the clubs history.
However, Gareth won’t be the only familiar face Wycombe come up against on Saturday, with former player, Aaron Pierre now playing for Shrewsbury after leaving Wimbledon in 2023, the 31-year-old centre-back spent three years at Wycombe, starting at 2014, making 121 appearances during that time before leaving for Northampton Town in 2017.
Meanwhile, former Shrewsbury Captain, Luke Leahy will face his former team on Saturday, after leaving for Wycombe in the summer of 2023, the midfielder winning Player of the Year just before he made the move to Buckinghamshire. Striker Dan Udoh will also face his former team in which he made 155 appearances, scoring 31 goals during his 5 years there, turning down a new contract at the end of the 23-24 season to join Wycombe.
Shrewsbury currently sit at the bottom of the League One table, having only won three games out of 18 played so far, one of those coming against title contenders, Birmingham- Which was Ainsworth’s first game in charge.
Contrastingly, Wycombe are currently first, having gone on a 16-game unbeaten run in the League, their last loss coming against Birmingham in August, which was their first home game of the season.
Commenting on Saturdays clash, Gareth Ainsworth has admitted it will feel ‘weird’, being the first time he wants Wycombe to lose as a manager.
League One Manager of the Month, Matt Bloomfield, going into his 101st game as Wycombe manager at the same place he had his first, has said the blues ‘need to remain consistent’ going into the game on Saturday, and that it will feel ‘strange’ facing the manager he once played under, but said the team will be up for getting the three points this weekend.
