Shrewsbury Town want pathway to first team for youngsters says Micky Moore

Speaking to the club in his first major interview since being appointed as the club’s first-ever director of football – Moore spoke about producing and developing players and the importance that Dave Longwell will have on that.

Longwell and the rest of the academy staff will have a ‘big responsibility’ – according to Moore.

He said: “Long term I would love to see the football club back go to what it was years and years ago when it was producing and developing players from the academy.

“There will be a massive responsibility on Dave Longwell and the academy staff, I have spoken to him and met him and outlined what I am looking for.

“There will be more conversations down the line but I want to see some of our youth team players get into the first team. That is really difficult as we are in League One and the bridge is really big, but we have got to try and look to do that.

“Along the way, if I need to go and sign some young free transfers, then we will do that, but I would like to bring some young players into the squad to complement the seniors that we have.”

The first job for Moore is to recruit a new head coach after Steve Cotterill left a week ago.

This is another change for the club with Shrews set to go away from appointing a manager – who oversees the majority of football operations.

To just appoint a coach to work with the players they have at their Sundorne training base and prepare them for matches.

And Moore was very complimentary of the current crop at the Meadow saying that experience and working with the players they have is just as important as recruitment.

“In the short term (the aim) it is to get a head coach, and some players in, he continued. “I will be looking for small gains to start off with. I think we have an outstanding set of senior players, some really good players and some really good characters. I know a lot about them.

“I have done a lot of research and spoken to a lot of people about the group of players that are still here.

“It is a really good group, I want to try and harness the players we have and better it.

“Make no mistake about it I am coming into a club with a group of players that are really good. So it is a great footing to start off.”

Town currently have 11 first-team players on their books – with the addition of the young players they have recently offered contracts to as well.