It might not have worked out at QPR but Gareth Ainsworth is back in management and perhaps on more familiar territory as he takes charge of rock bottom Shrewsbury Town for the first time on Saturday against League One title favourites Birmingham City.

Having frequently defied the odds in more than 10 years in charge of Wycombe Wanderers, Ainsworth will need all his know how to extract the Shrews from their predicament at the foot of the third tier.

“There could be a little bit of pain at the start, but I’m asking for patience and I’m asking for the town to get behind us and to buy into what we are trying to do,” he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

Birmingham City and third placed Wrexham, who host Exeter City, might take the limelight in the third tier but it is Wycombe who lead the way heading into the weekend.

With eight successive wins in all competitions Matt Bloomfield has taken his side two points clear at the top but they face a serious test at sixth-placed Lincoln City, who are making quietly impressive progress under Michael Skubala.

“We’re still just trying to move ourselves forward – we’ve had a good start but there’s so much football still to play and we’re certainly not getting above our station or ahead of where we are,” Bloomfield told the BBC’s Monday Night Club.

As with Championship leaders Sunderland, Wycombe have a big week as they follow the game at Lincoln with a home match against Mansfield Town on Tuesday.

Often a divisive character, supporters of Crawley Town and Rotherham United will probably agree Steve Evans is responsible for some of their happier memories in recent years.

Evans brought the Sussex club into the EFL in 2011 before leading the Millers to successive promotions into the Championship.

But the storm clouds are gathering over Evans’ second stint in charge of Rotherham and with three defeats in their past four League One matches, a loss to Crawley on Saturday would haul them even closer to the drop zone.