David Longwell: Shrewsbury have a ‘unique’ leader
First-team coach David Longwell admits it is impossible to overstate the influence manager Steve Cotterill has back with Shrewsbury Town.
Former academy boss Longwell, who took the reins with assistant Aaron Wilbraham in the manager’s absence, described Cotterill’s input as ‘unique’.
The manager returned for Town’s home fixtures against Oxford on Saturday, a 3-2 defeat, and the goalless draw against Ipswich on Tuesday night.
He watched both games from the directors’ box, rather than the dugout, but mixed with his squad both before and after the games, also thanking them for their efforts in securing safety while he was away.
“You can’t put together how much it means to have him back, his knowledge, his enthusiasm his passion, you can’t buy that,” Longwell said of Cotterill, who was loudly calling the shots throughout both matches.
“He’s unique in what he brings to the football club, how he leads and drives everything, before, during, half-time and at the end of games.
“He just can’t thank the players enough for their efforts. He said to them he can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done, in a difficult season, and they keep working.
“They played for out-and-out pride on Tuesday, they were playing for pride and every single man did that. All he did was thank them for their efforts. You can see what he does, he inspires, he motivates, and he drives this team and club.”
