Shrewsbury Town arrive at the Moss Rose on Saturday for the Silkmen's opening home league game of the 2010/11 season.

With the visitors having won both of their games so far this campaign, Gary Simpson is only too aware of the test they will set his squad. But after a good week in training, and a good showing against Leicester City in the Carling Cup, the Silkmen boss is confident that his team will be up to the task.

"They'll be full of confidence. Have no doubt about that," explained Gary. "They spent a bit of money in the summer and with Graham Turner returning to the club, there's bound to be a bit of an extra spring in their steps especially after their remarkable win on Tuesday night."

So how do you combat that?

Well first up we shouldn't worry too much about the opposition. It's more about what we do. And if we do as well as we did against Stevenage and Leicester I am confident we'll do well.

Are you worried about the amount of goals we've conceded?

Six it two games is clearly too many and whilst I thought some of Leicester's play was impressive, I felt we were sloppy for a couple of their goals. So yes we need to work on our defensive play.

Is it a consequence of going with a more attacking style of play?

Possibly but I don't think that had necessarily anything to do with the goals we've conceded. The key thing I have tried to do this season is to win more games, or at least have a squad and style of play that is capable of winning more games. That may sound daft as football is all about winning games.

But last year we drew 18 matches. We lost 16 which is only two more than Rochdale (who got promoted) and one more than Rotherham who finished in the play-offs. What they did, that we didn't was win more than they drew.

So I've tried to fashion a team that is capable of turning those draws into wins. It's a balance and it may take time to fashion but I've certainly seen positive signs in the last two games that we are making progress.

Against Leicester for example we had a lot of attacking players on at the end, and it was them rather than us that were hanging on.

So does that mean you will be looking to make changes?

We've worked on a few things in training and I'll announce the team in the morning. Whilst a settled team is good one of things I believe in strongly is that no one should be guaranteed of a place in the side. I have no favourites and I will choose the team I believe has the best chance of winning the game. And I have confidence that whoever I pick will be up for the job.

And that takes into account the effort I see on the training ground as much as out their on the pitch. You train as you play and you play as you train. I want only the highest of standards at this club. In that way you get into the right habits and that in turn will result in better performance all round.

Is there added pressure with the game being at home?

It would be great to put on a display for the home fans and pick up three points. It can set the tone for the season ahead. But above all it's a game of football, one that we want to win and in that respects it is no different.