A late reshuffle from Gareth Ainsworth, minutes before kick-off on Saturday, paid off in spectacular fashion less than 60 seconds into the crucial victory against promotion rivals Shrewsbury.

After Hogan Ephraim withdrew from the starting line-up through illness goal scorer Sam Wood moved into a more advanced position in a front three.

And, having been given licence to get forward, Wood found himself in the box to head home the winner after just 40 seconds.

“Sam Saunders came in and Sam Wood moved position – we’ve been working on him all week so I’ll claim that as a masterstroke,” said manager Ainsworth.

“It was forced upon me but it’s a great header from Sam, good enough to win any game and luckily it did today (Saturday).”

Wood was delighted to notch his fifth goal of the season having netted only twice in the entirety of the previous campaign.

He said: “I spent most of last year at left-back and now I’m playing further up the field.

“I’ve got a few assists this year (nine) and four (goals) now in the league which is great personally, but I’m more of a team player and I’m all about getting the points on the board for the team to move up the league. We’re sitting nicely in second position now.”

One of the midfielder’s two strikes last season helped keep Blues up on the final day against Torquay, and the new additions since then have helped turn a relegation battle into a promotion push according to Wood.

“There’s only a few here from last season and the boys coming in knew the situation. The boys have come in and they’ve adapted magnificently and pushed us on,” he said.

“This is the gaffer’s own squad. The last couple of years he’s taken over another squad, he’s bought in some fantastic players and it’s showing and we’re up there for a reason.”