Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst on why job title change is bringing its benefits
Paul Hurst believes being head coach rather than manager is giving him more time to focus on Shrewsbury Town’s survival battle.
The 49-year-old returned to Shropshire for his second stint in the Town dugout six weeks ago, tasked with ensuring the club avoid the drop from League One.
Hurst was manager when he first achieved the feat and then led them to the brink of promotion to the Championship in 2019, before leaving for Ipswich.
This time his job title is head coach, working alongside director of football Micky Moore and it is a set-up which suits him well, particularly during a critical run of matches.
Town hosted Exeter last night and will welcome bottom club Carlisle on Saturday.
Hurst said: “When you do go Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday it can sometimes feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day.
“So from that point of view it is quite easy. When it comes to forward planning, that sits with Micky quite comfortably and allows us to focus on the games we have coming up.
“Micky will deal with a lot of the agents and things like that, which sometimes is quite nice because as you can imagine you get a lot of people contacting you.”
Hurst, who had won three of his first nine matches in charge ahead of last night’s visit of the Grecians, admits planning for the mid to long-term becomes more complicated the longer Town’s League One status remains in question. Saturday’s 2-1 win at Port Vale gave them a seven-point cushion over the relegation zone, though several teams below possess a match in hand.
Hurst continued: “There are certain things you can plan, other things you can’t. It isn’t rocket science.
“Some of the players who would be interested if you are a League One club won’t be if you are a League Two side. Hopefully the latter is not the case.
“I think we are going to be lateish in terms of things we can do or plan. At the same time there are things we want to get to grips with, in terms of coming back to the club.
“While it is relatively simple in terms of putting a team out on the pitch and hoping they get a result, there are different changes you want to make in terms of how we work.
“Those will come going into next season and some things will be the same. Those who will be here next season will have an understanding of how we like to work but they will see some things differently when you are starting afresh with a season ahead of you.”
Hurst’s most notable decision since replacing Matt Taylor has been tactical, with Town switching to a four-man defence. Yet he admits to having been wary about changing too much.
He said: “You have to make the best decision you feel in the circumstances. That is something which perhaps comes with a bit of experience, rather than coming in and ripping everything up.
“We have changed system, in the main, which some people might feel was a brave call, others might think it was obvious. The squad was not designed for it, that is what I do know. But I still feel the general feedback I have got is it has suited the players better and they have performed better.”
