Paul Hurst getting to grips with the work-life balance after month back at Shrewsbury Town

Since the Salop legend returned to the club for a second stint, he has managed five points from the same amount of games – while performances on the whole have been good.

Before being re-appointed as the Salop boss, Hurst had been out of work since the end of October after four successive defeats at Grimsby saw him depart after three years.

So, after almost three months off, the Shropshire Star asked Hurst how he is balancing his new role in Shropshire with his home life.

“Overall, it is different,” the Town head coach said.

“For me, I am a bit in between, so I am down here (in Shrewsbury), but if I can get home then I will. But in general, I am down here so that changes the family dynamic.

“My family are growing up. I still refer to them as the kids, but they are getting older and finding their own way a little bit and that changes it.

“It was nice, maybe coinciding with the Christmas period a little bit, and that gave me a chance to be out with friends a bit more and do things like that, and then all of a sudden that stops.

“I have a couple of friends in particular on a group chat who sent a message – I could not get a response to them for quite a while, and they said ‘oh well, we will still be here when you are sacked again’.

“I was like ‘ah thanks, that’s nice to know’.

“But you kind of apologise because you are available, and then all of a sudden you are not, and that is just having people around you that understand how busy it can be and the hours it takes up.”

Meanwhile, in his post-match press conferences, the Town head coach has referred to needing a remote control to get his players into the positions on the pitch he wants them, before suggesting he is not the only coach who feels that way.

He added: “Let’s just say we are certainly not on our own in terms of sharing that frustration with players and instructions.

“And where you have shown someone and then they say they forgot – sometimes it does not matter how much time you spend on the training pitch.

“You speak about being bright, and sometimes that might go hand in hand with being academically bright and being football bright.

“It is quite often, without trying to stereotype footballers, that people aren’t the brightest, but they just understand football.

“I think we have had a couple who are maybe not good at both,” Hurst said laughing. “Without trying to be rude.

“You just try to get those messages across constantly with the help of footage and the help of walking through it and conversations hoping that the penny does drop.

“Again, it is very easy when you are stood on the side of the pitch. Certainly, when I was out of work, I never lost a game of football.

When I watch a game, I never make a bad decision, and you look like a fantastic manager, but that is not real life.

“Watching it you can see what is happening, it is not in the heat of battle, but players make mistakes.

“There have been lots of mistakes, and there will be again at the weekend, it is just where they happen and how often they happen as to how frustrated you get as their leader as such on the touchline.”