Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill excited for opener but still battling Covid after-effects
Steve Cotterill insists he still isn’t 100 per cent after his battle with Covid-19 last year – but he’s as excited as he has ever been 27 years after his managerial career began.
Cotterill, who took over Salop in 2020, is heading into his second full season at the club as his side travel to Morecambe for the League One curtain raiser.
It has been a busy summer so far for Cotterill and his staff with six new faces coming through the door.
And this year the Shrewsbury boss has been more involved in transfer business and on the training field, compared to last summer when he was still suffering following his battle with Covid.
However, the 58-year-old admits going into the season he is still not 100 per cent right.
He said: “I am excited as I was when I started, I love football and that is where I am, I love winning and I hate losing and I’m looking forward to it.
“Last year I gave 100 per cent, but I might not have been quite good enough. I didn’t duck any corners with it last year, but last year most nights I was in bed at seven, half seven, I was done.
“We still hear about people with Covid and fatigue and I’ve still got it. I don’t need to be in bed at seven, I’m fitter and stronger than I was 12 months ago, and I hope many others are the same, but I am 100 per cent, not really no.
“I think it has been tough on Keith (Burt, head of recruitment), being here this year has helped Keith I think, but last year I was not quite ready and the window before I was in the Royal Infirmary in Bristol, and a lot has been lobbed on Keith, so this year I have been able to help him.”
And the Salop boss, who began his managerial career in 1995 at Sligo Rovers, has praised his staff who still rally around him to this day when he struggles with the after effects of his battle.
He said: “I still have moments when I feel tired, and as I have said before we have incredible support here.
“They know when I am not quite right and if I am not quite right, they run around looking after me as if they were all of my sons
“The staff and players are a great bunch and I am looking forward to watching them this season.”
