EFL Cup: Shrewsbury v Bolton - Paul Hurst eager to taste cup victory

The Carabao Cup might not be the top priority for Hurst this season, but the second-round tie does offer an opportunity to lift the mood after a tough start to the League One campaign.

Town sit bottom of the table after losing all three league matches, their only success coming via a penalty shoot-out against Notts County in the first round of the cup.

But while Saturday’s visit of a Leyton Orient team also seeking their first point of the campaign is looming large, Hurst sees Bolton’s visit as a chance to boost morale.

“We spoke about it this morning. You want that winning feeling in the dressing room,” he said.

“It makes everyone’s next day better. You probably sleep a bit better. That is myself, players, staff and fans to a degree. We know how passionate they are and how results can affect the mood.”

Town go into the tie on the back of their best performance of the season to date in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield.

Major changes to the line-up are unlikely, partly because Hurst does not have the luxury of depth in his squad to do so.

That is not the case with the visiting boss Ian Evatt, who made wholesale changes as his team edged past Mansfield on spot-kicks earlier in the first round.

“I do think some teams disrespect the competition and it seems odd in terms of some of the teams which get put out,” said Hurst.

“I would not include Bolton in that. They are fortunate in one sense but fair play to them in another, they have at least two good teams and maybe a few more.”

Debriefing Saturday’s defeat was not a straightforward task for Hurst, who was keen to praise his players for their performance, while also making clear they cannot be happy at losing.

He believes the display has raised confidence levels, explaining: “I think today you get the feel of when people come in the building, the first time seeing them since the weekend.

“Did I get a sense of anyone being down or sulking, which I don’t want. I speak to the players about it a lot.

“Sometimes maybe you almost want that atmosphere because you want people to understand the importance of trying to get wins.

“At the same time, I think you have to be fair and balanced in terms of what I see.

“I said to the players on Saturday at some point in the season we will win a game and I won’t be happy.

“I have to be truthful with them. It is not always as simple as: ‘Oh, we’ve won. Everything’s brilliant’.

“I have had that quite a lot in my career. Sometimes players then think, what is going on? “The result is the most important thing but performance has to be taken into account in terms of messages and feedback to the players.”

The EFL Cup does not rank near the top of Paul Hurst and Shrewsbury Town’s priority list especially given the tough start to the League One season.

Saturday’s home clash against Leyton Orient – the only other side to have lost three from three in the third tier – already has a significant feel about it. For the optics perhaps more so than the points, Shrewsbury cannot afford to see the visitors claim the spoils.

With that in mind tonight’s second round knockout tie does carry nearly the same weight. A good performance and avoiding injuries will be the priorities for the Town head coach.

Ian Evatt’s Bolton are expected to push for promotion and have started with a win, draw and defeat. They boast a raft of top players for League One level and the second round tie at Croud Meadow tonight will give Wanderers a chance to shuffle the pack for game time.

One factor not lost on Hurst will be the opportunity of landing a plum tie in the next round if Town can progress tonight. The Premier League big-hitters enter in round three and a big clash would serve the coffers well.

“Bolton changed their team around quite a bit in the first tie and looking at their line-up and bench on Saturday they have a lot more options available to them than we have,” Hurst said.

“So I’m not quite sure what time Ian will pick. They lost at Charlton, a tough place to go and I’m sure they will be right up there this season as well. We know what Bolton are, one of the favourites to win promotion, so we can’t get into Ian’s mind of how he’ll approach it.

“What I do know is there will be some good players on the pitch that we’ll have to contain and also try to get going the other way.”

Summer Town loan signing Josh Kayode felt a niggle in his calf towards the end of last week, Hurst revealed after the defeat at Huddersfield.

It is unlikely any risk will be taken on the powerful striker against the Trotters this evening as the on-loan Rotherham man looks to find his feet in Shropshire.

It is a pity for Kayode, who spent much of the last couple of seasons injured, but games in the coming weeks, with more EFL Trophy ties on the horizon, may be opportunities for him to settle.

The other two Town players who will not feature at the Meadow this evening are more summer recruits, midfielder Jordan Rossiter and centre-back Josh Feeney.

Experienced campaigner Rossiter is set to have an injection in his knee to get back in the side and is highly unlikely to feature tonight.

Villa loan youngster Feeney injured his hamstring shortly after checking into the club and is still expected to be missing for a couple of weeks.

A real potential fitness bonus this evening could be very welcome minutes in the legs for George Nurse.

The Town left-back was on the bench at Huddersfield and while he did not get on it was the first time he was in a competitive matchday squad since September 2022.

Nurse will always be managed closely by Shrewsbury due to the severity of his two knee injuries, but any minutes tonight will be an important step in his development.