A WEEK of progress for Shawbury United has set the bar for the rest of the season, says manager Dave Richards.

Shawbury held West Midlands Premier Division high-fliers Black Country Rangers to a 1-1 draw on Saturday – and United had enough chances to have won the game.

That performance came on the back of a midweek League Cup penalty shoot-out triumph against 10-man Wellington, after the match ended 1-1.

Up next in the league for Shawbury, who sit 15th, is a trip to 11th-placed AFC Bridgnorth on Saturday – and Richards says they are one of the sides United should be aiming to overhaul.

Richards said: “If we play like we have done the past week and compete like we have done, then we will come away with a result from Bridgnorth.

“The lads have set a bar from what I’ve seen in the last couple of games – now, we need to be hitting that top half, it’s only six points off from where we are now.

“We played really well against Wolverhampton Casuals a few weeks ago but our standards dropped – now the lads have a second chance, they need to stay together as a group and keep progressing.”