Shrewsbury v Northampton - Match preview
Northampton were the team Paul Hurst’s Shrewsbury Town began their League One campaign against in their sensational 2017/18 season.
And there is an irony that during his first game in charge of his second stint, they will make the journey to Sixfields Stadium this weekend.
Hurst guided Salop to a third-placed League One finish during that campaign, but he inherits a side with issues at the other end of the league now.
Town are one place above the relegation zone – albeit with a four-point cushion – and they have lost seven out of their last eight games across all competitions.
So there is a big job on for the new head coach, who will have met his players for the first time on Thursday.
When asked what his thoughts were on the current crop here in Shropshire, he revealed he has been keeping an eye on the team.
“I have tried to watch as many games as I can in a period of time,” Hurst said, speaking at his unveiling.
“Naturally, I looked at a couple before the situation came about just from an interest perspective.
“It looks like an honest group of players, and I have not seen anything where I have thought the players are not trying or anything like that, which can sometimes be the case.
“We have clearly got to improve some these things, but as you touched on, it is very unusual, or you are very fortunate if you go into a job when everything is going well.
“I am hoping that we can get a response, a change in voice, a change in training, and again, I want to make it clear that is no criticism of what has gone before and Matt and Marcus, but everyone will do things differently.
“It might be quite significantly different in terms of approach, it might be just slightly different. It might be different in terms of just picking a different player or preferring a different player.
“I am not here to criticise one little bit. We all do our jobs to the best of our ability and that is what I will try to do. I am certainly not a miracle worker.
“Myself, Chris, Micky and everyone will give everything, and I hope that the players will buy into that and give their all to try and improve as always.”
One of the big problems the head coach has got to address is the record in front of goal.
Town have only managed to score 18 goals in their 28 league fixtures this season – which makes them the lowest scorers in the entire EFL – so there is plenty of work to do.
The first game of a new era is always one of intrigue. What team will the new boss pick? What players will he favour, where maybe the old coach did not?
There has been a lot of talk about the system Hurst will use. Town fans have been used to seeing Shrews operate with a back three, but Hurst has used a back four. It is an interesting weekend in prospect.
