Elliott Bennett loving life at Shrewsbury under Steve Cotterill
Elliott Bennett has heaped praise on Shrewsbury manager Steve Cotterill after the boss celebrated his second anniversary in charge at the club.
Cotterill took over from Sam Ricketts in 2020, inheriting a squad struggling for form and low on confidence.
The team was looking destined for a League One relegation scrap.
But after a turbulent first six months in charge personally, where the boss was left seriously ill with Covid, he has now got his teeth into the job, and they have made a promising start to this campaign – despite a tough run of fixtures of late.
Bennett, who has played under some distinguished managers in a career of more than 400 professional games says he loves the way Cotterill manages, suggesting it is no surprise he has had the career he has.
Bennett said: “I love his style of management he is direct, open, honest, and there are no grey areas.
“I am maybe the last of the breed of players where things were a bit different, now, maybe you can’t say certain things, but I like to be told.
“Told when I’ve played well, but also when I have played bad and the gaffer is like that.
“He is passionate, obsessed with football, and to be honest he has managed over 800 games, and you don’t do that by accident.
“You don’t get to manage that amount of games without being a good manager.
“He has always been brilliant with me.”
After recovering from an ankle injury the summer the wing-back made a positive return to the team making a big difference with his quality on the ball.
But Bennett is now out with a calf injury for the foreseeable future – adding to Salop’s injury list that is making the boss’ job increasingly more difficult.
Cotterill’s team are managing their way through this spell, but they could do with the experienced Bennett to call upon.
It was the current Shrews boss who signed the former Blackburn man back in June 2021.
But it is not the first time the pair have worked together, and Bennett says they have a good relationship.
He said: “He took me on loan to Bristol City and brought me here.
“We have a good relationship, but not a relationship where he favours me in any way – and the whole group would say that. Whether you are the captain or starting on the bench, everyone gets treated the same.
“The things we go through in the week, no stone is left unturned.
“Obviously, you can get beat and win games, but one thing is for sure when we cross the white line we know exactly what the gaffer wants from us.
“Like I said before, he treats every player the same, no-one is different, and I think that is the mark of a good manager.”
