Dave Edwards is a big fan of Shrewsbury Town boss Steve Cotterill
Shrewsbury midfielder Dave Edwards admits he wishes he had played under Steve Cotterill earlier in his career.
The hometown favourite, who this week revealed he is considering retirement this summer, had the opportunity to join Cotterill's Bristol City but decided to stay at former club Wolves.
But Edwards feels that the 'ultra impressive' manager would have 'massively benefitted' his career.
The midfielder's game has always been about high-intensity runs in a box-to-box role, arriving late into the penalty area, and Shrewsbury boss Cotterill demands nothing but full-tilt work rate from his players.
"He's ultra impressive, he really is," Edwards said of Cotterill, who remains absent from the Town squad as he continues to recover from a serious bout of Covid-19.
"He's someone I wish I'd have played for when I was younger, I know I had an opportunity to when he was at Bristol City and the timing wasn't quite right and I was fully committed to Wolves.
"But I do wish I'd have played for him when I was younger, I think I'd have benefitted massively from him.
"I'm obviously glad I've got the opportunity but it's a shame it came so late in my career.
"He still offers me a lot of value and just the way he coaches the team, I've only spoke to him once or twice (before) and I didn't really know his coaching style."
Edwards explained how Cotterill, 56, combines a modern style of management with 'old-school authority' that brings a 'fear factor' – and said that the accountability of doing things properly at home and at the training ground was what was needed.
"He's very modern in his thinking, but he's got that old-school authority, that's been really important to us," added the midfielder.
"Everybody has to become accountable for what they do at the training ground, at home, on Saturday, there's no hiding place and that's a good thing, everyone needs to know their responsibilities.
"Everything is black or white, there's no grey areas, he has that little bit of fear factor that all top managers need and the players have responded well to that with results and how organised we are.
"We hope we can get him back as soon as possible, when you have a character as big and lively as that it's hard to replace."
Edwards added on the boss who replaced his former Wales and Wolves colleague Sam Ricketts: "The main difference between Sam and the new manager is experience, it's not something you get overnight."
