The Shrimps boss will bring Craig Stanley into the squad when he is fit again, has sent Michael Carr back to Northwich on loan and hinted at starts for Stewart Drummond and Diarmuid O'Carroll.

McIlroy watched the home loss with Dagenham from the main stand and after the game said he had 'a lot of thinking to do'.

That has resulted in the return to favour of Stanley when he had looked likely to go on loan and the move to loan out Carr, who has started all four League Two games so far.

McIlroy said: "Craig Stanley won't be going anywhere. He is staying with us. Everything is ok with Stanley. We brought some players in to have a look, we had a look at them and Craig Stanley is needed at the club.

"Once Craig's toe is ready, he will be back in the squad."

McIlroy added that his decisions had not been wholly based on the first four games of the season, but from assessing a run which has brought only two wins since February.

"We decided to bring people in and have a look at them. We didn't have a lot of pre-season games which has back-fired on us. We have looked at these players and I can see a clearer picture what I have got to do.

"I still think the players I have brought in are better than the ones we let go. It is a younger squad and it takes a bit of time to get together."

Drummond played almost half an hour on Saturday and helped instigate a strong finish to the game from the Shrimps.

McIlroy said: "Drummie has worked very hard in training and is really fit. He has had a bit of an ankle injury in pre-season but he is now raring to go and showed on Saturday why I brought him back to the club."

The Shrimps got a goal back through substitute O'Carroll and he was set to start at Oldham in the Johnstone Paints Trophy on Tuesday.

McIlroy said: "He has had this foot injury but hopefully now he can have a run in the side."

McIlroy had hoped to have winger Andy Welsh in the squad but a deal had not been finalised as Visitor Sport went to press.

The ex-Sunderland, Leicester and Blackpool winger is out of contract so can be signed outside the transfer window.

There were two departures from Christie Park, Carr going to Northwich and Adam Yates joining Burton on a six-week loan. Aaron Taylor's rumoured move to Droylsden did not go through.

McIlroy felt that 'wrong decisions' by players had cost them against Dagenham with the visitors scoring twice in five minutes.

"It is individual mistakes. I can't cover that up. I can't knock the commitment and the effort the boys give me but individual decisions are costing us in the three games we have lost in the League.

"We have got to see the positives. The teams we have played are well up there and there are not a million miles between us and them.

"There was nothing much between us and our opponents in the games and that gives us hope, we just need to cut out the individual errors. We know what is going wrong. We have to try and knock it out of our system.

"Shrewsbury have spent a lot of money and it will be a difficult game for us on Saturday. They are riding high at the moment but we have got to stick together and hopefully try and turn it round as soon as we can.

"We need one result to turn us around and the sooner the better. We have got a run coming up where we're looking to get some points to kickstart the season."