Derek Asamoah happy to take time off

Exciting striker Derek Asamoah is looking forward to recharging his batteries over the summer before spearheading Shrewsbury Town’s League Two promotion challenge next season.

The Ghana international, one of Town’s best performers in the Wembley play-off final defeat against Bristol Rovers, revealed the break is “very much needed” after a season terrorising defenders across the country.

Asamoah insisted it had been an enjoyable campaign despite the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle against Rovers and he’s hopeful Town can flourish again next term.

“It was a very good season and the club did better than expected, but it was just a shame we couldn’t go one step further,” he said.

“It was a really hard season, though, and I did a lot of travelling to and from Shrewsbury as I still live in Mansfield, so it will be nice to have a rest before we report back for pre-season training.”

Asamoah said he enjoyed the Wembley experience, apart from the result, and that he had since watched the match on video.

“It was pretty emotional and very satisfying with the atmosphere and seeing how many Town fans turned up at the match,” he said. “I thought we gave a good account of ourselves and were unfortunate.”

And Asamoah added he would be happy to continue in the right wing role in which he shone at Wembley if required next season.

“Right wing is where I played for Lincoln and my other previous clubs,” he said. “I’ve only been converted to a striker in the last couple of seasons. But I’m delighted how it’s gone for me at Shrewsbury and I’ve enjoyed playing under Gary Peters.”

Asamoah, who was impressed with what he saw when he had a look around Shrewsbury’s new stadium a couple of months ago, is now targeting a renewed promotion push next season: “That’s the aim – we’ve had a taste of it now.”

Meanwhile, former Town goalkeeper Joe Hart gained his second cap for England under-21s on Tuesday night, keeping a clean sheet in the 5-0 win over Slovakia at Norwich’s Carrow Road.

Hart, a former pupil at Shrewsbury’s Meole Brace School, then excelled in a specially arranged penalty shoot-out, saving two of the five Slovakian spot kicks he faced.

Hart, battling it out with Liverpool’s Scott Carson for the number one spot, is flying to Holland this weekend with Stuart Pearce’s strong under-21 squad for the European Championship finals which start next week.