Steve Cotterill: I need time to decide on David Longwell's Shrewsbury Town role

Longwell was snapped up by the club in February 2019 when he became the new academy manager.

In the wake of Sam Ricketts leaving the club last month Longwell moved up to help out with the first team.

He has continued in that role since Cotterill took the job in early December and the new manager is biding his time on whether to make that move permanent – but he has heaped praise on Longwell for his help in the managerial transition.

“If it is a permanent move the first person to know about it will be David Longwell,” Cotterill said.

“I’ll keep you updated with that one. At the moment we haven’t had enough time.

“He’s worked his socks off since he’s been with me. The staff has been superb but he has arguably been the biggest help.

“From the minute I came in the door there was so much information but he’s a good coach and more importantly a good man. I like being wrapped around good people.

“He is a really, really good person and that’s not to undermine his coaching abilities either. From what I’ve seen I’ve been really impressed and we seem to have hit it off.

“We’ll see where that one goes and how it grows.”

Cotterill added: “He has been a huge help to me since I came in.

“When Aaron (Wilbraham) is starting off his coaching career, it’s all new to him.

“I came in and got help from Dave and now I’ve been able to take a step back and Dave and Aaron have come together, which is what I like.

“The old saying is that two’s company, three’s a crowd. I don’t want to be part of the crowd.

“Those two will be really good for each other. They’re great lads.

“I’m really happy.”

Since Cotterill was appointed the schedule has not relented, with games coming thick and fast.

They now have a break at the weekend with the Sunderland clash postponed due to a Covid outbreak at the North East club.

For Cotterill, the efforts of his staff have helped him through this period .

“It’s been incredibly intense,” he added.

“Without the staff, some in which I inherited and some I brought in, I couldn’t have done it without them.

“We’re still evaluating so I wouldn’t say I’ve made assessments.

“The league table doesn’t lie. We are where we are and we have to deal with it.

“I wouldn’t say that we should be any further up the table because I haven’t been here long enough to assess that.

“The players are improving and there’s still a lot to work on.

“There will be bumps in the road and we have to try and deal with them as best we can.

“We have an incredibly tough month. In any isolation these games are tough enough as they are, without them being back-to-back.”