Illness-hit Shrewsbury Town aiming to bounce back

Town host Gillingham tonight, having lost their last two League One games at Montgomery Waters Meadow.

Preparation for the game has not been ideal as four players had to miss training yesterday because of the illness that has spread through the camp.

“I’m not going to divulge who has trained or who hasn’t – but four people missed training because of illness,” said Hurst.

“We’ve also then got a bunch of other players training with illness.

“I think near enough all the staff have got some kind of symptoms, but we’re alright as we don’t have to run around.

“It’s not ideal preparation – far from it.

“But we’ll get on with it and try to get the best performance out the group that we can.

“That’s what the message will be and what we’ll try to achieve.”

Fatigue may have already been a problem after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Rotherham – and has only been worsened by the illness.

“You give the players the best advice, in terms of refuelling – making sure they are getting lots of fluids on board,” said Hurst.

“Anything you can take that’s legal, you have to be careful on that.

“It’s amazing what’s on the banned list, that would seem so tame.

“The players know that – they get the advice, there’s a number they can call if needs be to check.

“It’s about looking after yourself and giving yourself the best chance of having as much energy and get-up-and-go in you as possible.

“We won’t be the only club but, I must admit, this is the worst I’ve encountered as it’s affected so many people.”

On opponents Gillingham, Hurst added: “It won’t be easy. When you’ve lost a game, you always want to put that right as soon as possible. They are one of the form sides in the league. We’ll do everything we can to get back to winning ways.”