Bernard McNally: It’s so exciting to see Dave Edwards come home to Shrewsbury

It is a signing we all wanted to happen, and getting him in on a two-and-a-half-year deal gives the club a massive lift.

Since the appointment of Sam Ricketts at the start of December, with the performances over the past month, things have been moving in the right direction.

But Dave coming back takes the excitement to a whole other level. Him coming back means a lot, to a lot of people.

But it not just a signing of sentimental value. Let’s not forget, Dave helped Wales reach the semi-finals of the European Championships just a few years ago, and played in the top flight with Wolves for a good number of years as well.

We are all anticipating what he can bring to the party, and I think he’ll have a big influence on the side – not just with his talent but his experience too.

He will be able to offer pointers and fine-tune aspects of our forwards’ games.

Something I noticed on Saturday as we drew 1-1 with Stoke in the FA Cup third round was that our strikers strayed offside on too many occasions.

They were just a little bit too eager, and Dave coming in will help with things like that.

Breaking from midfield, he knows when to make those gut-busting runs into the box and get on the end of crosses.

So I’m sure his work in training, and in games, will be a big help to the likes of Fejiri Okenabirhie and Aaron Amadi-Holloway.

We had some good opportunities against Stoke. At 1-0, Amadi-Holloway had a good chance to double our advantage.

But at least we got the draw at the Meadow to take it to replay.

The Potters, collectively and individually, were poor.

Ashley Williams was one I expected a lot more from – he seemed a shadow of what he was for Swansea.

Stoke have since sacked Gary Rowett and replaced him with Nathan Jones, from Luton, so we have to be wary of the new-manager bounce at the Bet365 Stadium on Tuesday. But we have a boost of our own, with Dave coming in, so I’m going into that one with optimism.

Even if we don’t go through, I think we will give the Potters another run for their money with a clash against Wolves at stake.

Town are now out of the Checkatrade Trophy after losing on penalties at Port Vale on Tuesday night, but I think Sam will be pleased with how the night went.

The young side performed well, with Ryan Sears getting his first goal in blue and amber.

And, really, I think Town want to concentrate on the league and preserving their League One status.