In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Paul Hurst tells Adam Bate what it is like to be back at Shrewsbury Town, his gratitude to the fans, and why he is out to defy the odds once again as he goes in search of another ‘wow moment’ in his managerial career…
Tuesday 6 August 2024 08:54, UK
“I want to prove people wrong,” Paul Hurst tells Sky Sports as he sits in his office back at Shrewsbury Town. “That is how my career was built, even as a player. That is never going to leave me until I am not here anymore. I am going to use that this season.”
The irony is that for the first half of his managerial career, all Hurst knew was success. He had worked himself up the pyramid, winning promotions with Ilkeston Town, Boston United and Grimsby Town before taking Shrewsbury to Wembley twice in a season.
"Everything was almost too easy. And then, all of a sudden…"
His big move to Ipswich ended almost before it had begun. Hurst was then caught up in the malaise at Scunthorpe. "I took that job because I wanted to work. I am not one to play the game as a manager, and wait for that right opportunity," he explains.
"People might say it is naïve but I would rather just get on with it and give it a go rather than worry because it might not be good for my career. Maybe that is a weakness or stupidity or whatever not to think about protecting myself. But that is just how I feel."
There was another promotion back at Grimsby but it is his return to Shrewsbury in January that has really captured the imagination. It was here that he defied the odds in the 2017/18 season by taking one of the relegation favourites to a play-off final.
It remains the club's highest league finish since dropping out of the second tier 35 years ago. Hurst jokes about how he should have kept the makeshift road sign in the town that read 'Paul Hurst Way'. Most were thrilled to have him back. But not quite everyone.
There were stories told about how he had cleared his desk before the play-off final in anticipation of that Ipswich move. The truth was twisted. It was a frustration given the ride they had been on. "Little bits around the timings were not correct," he says.
"In the back of my mind, there was a thought towards those who perhaps were really unhappy and how they would take me coming back. To this day, I am sure there are fans out there who do feel that way. But I would like to think it is a very small majority.
"It is a bit like me with players. When they hand in a transfer request, nine times out of 10, I get it. I might not entirely agree but I understand it. Winning the first game back helped a little bit anyway. They have got behind me and I can only thank them for that."
For his part, he is glad to be back among familiar faces. "The physio is still here. The chef too. The media guy was better before," he adds, playfully digging out his colleague across the room. But other aspects of the club needed to be urgently adjusted.
"People were disillusioned. It was clearly not right," he says.
"If nothing had changed, I am convinced they would have gone down last season given the fixtures left. The team transformed quite a bit. On the eye, there was no comparison. It was just a totally different feel. I think that is what got the buy-in from the players.
"When I came here, there was almost an acceptance of being fifth bottom. Being not even average, just surviving being acceptable. I think you need more ambition than that. Otherwise, I think it just breeds a bit of complacency. You do not want that culture."
Even so, he knows it would be something of a miracle if he is able to repeat that unlikely feat of his previous stint, one that he rates as the best achievement of his career despite that long list of promotions elsewhere. League One is a different beast these days.
"We know that it is going to be tough. I have counted as many as 16 teams where there will be questions asked if they do not at least reach the play-offs. Some will expect to win them or even be in the top two. So straight away, that is two thirds of the league.
"And then there is this really small group of teams that I think the general public will put us in, and I understand that. But it is a bit like last time, in a way, as in we have got to try to overachieve, and I am okay with that. I think there is a genuine understanding of it.
"It is just about being the best that we can be, see where that takes us and try to enjoy it. If we lose games, there is a way to lose. We have got to make them beat us. Every team that we play, we want them to come off thinking they have had to play well today."
Hurst is now head coach rather than manager. "Just a different title on the back of the door." But he is helping to drive the recruitment alongside director of football Micky Moore. "Financially, we are not going to be first choice." They need to be imaginative.
That means identifying those players who are capable of more. There is an appreciation that statistics are of increasing importance but an awareness that Shrewsbury are a club that needs to work out what a player will do next, not what they have done already.
Tommi O'Reilly is a young talent brought in on loan from Aston Villa. "Can Tommi do it in League One? In his head, he can. But he has got to prove that. Ability-wise, 100 per cent, he is more than capable. But I would be the first to put my hands up and say it is a big if."
Aristote Nsiala has been brought back to Shrewsbury after following Hurst to Ipswich. "He has not had the best of times recently. People are questioning whether he has still got it. Harrison Biggins dropped to League Two. Can he do it in League One again?"
Luca Hoole, a 22-year-old defender signed from Bristol Rovers, is another. "By his own admission, did not have the best of seasons, but he is still young. Can he kick on?" You may detect a theme. "Players with a point to prove. Out to show what they can do."
Hurst turns 50 in September and some of his former players are in the dugout these days. Mat Sadler at Walsall credits him as an inspiration because he always treated players with respect. Shaun Pearson at Grimsby says that he instilled values in him.
Typically, the man who describes himself as a glass-is-half-empty kind of a guy, is reluctant to agree. "I do not think it is even about football, it is about being a good person. I do not think I deserve credit for that. I just treat people fairly and honestly."
But this natural born pessimist is still dreaming, aiming a little higher than mere survival. "I cannot sit here as the leader of the team and not want better than that." Why does he still want to do this? He gives the example of a conversation he had at Grimsby.
The club brought in someone from the military to talk to players and staff about their motivation. "It was designed to help us reflect." What did he learn from that experience? "The conclusion was that it is about getting that wow moment," he reveals.
"Maybe it is a promotion, a cup upset or just a big win. This job is better than working in a call centre where it's just sort of Groundhog Day and you do not know where that next buzz is coming from. You want to achieve something together. That is what drives you."
Paul Hurst. Still chasing that buzz, still with a point to prove.
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