Shropshire Star

Steve Cotterill in charge as Shrewsbury return

Steve Cotterill yesterday led Shrewsbury Town training for the first time in exactly six months as the squad returned for pre-season.

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Town kicked off their pre-season training schedule after roughly a seven-week summer break – although boss Cotterill insisted the players carried out a strict fitness programme throughout the close season.

For boss Cotterill it was a landmark day, his first reunion with the Shrewsbury squad for training since the final days of 2020, before his serious bout of Covid-19.

Cotterill endured two stints in Bristol Royal Infirmary Hospital, including a spell in intensive care, recovering from the virus and subsequent Covid pneumonia.

The session was at the new 3G community pitch at Montgomery Waters Meadow as work to the Sundorne Castle training base is finalised.

The boss last led a Shrews session around new year, before the club went three weeks without a fixture due to the outbreak, and Cotterill did not return until May 1 against Oxford.

The group will also train today before a weekend off ahead of a first full week back in action, where they will be drilled before the pre-season friendly programme gets under way in front of fans at neighbours AFC Telford United on Tuesday week.

Players and staff met for a meeting upon their return before the usual pre-season testing took place, where players’ body fat and other such units are recorded.

The squad, including new signings, were then put through their paces where they completed a ‘yo-yo test’, a form of the bleep test, a type of demanding fitness exercise.

Luke Leahy, Matthew Pennington, Elliott Bennett, Ryan Bowman and Marko Marosi were all in for their first day, having been part of Cotterill’s first summer recruitment drive in charge of Salop. The boss is still active in the market, working closely with head of recruitment Keith Burt, and Town are still looking for ambitious additions.

Town squad and staff could also be seen kitted out in new Umbro gear, the club’s new kit manufacturer.

Work on the training base is ongoing. The pitch at Montgomery Waters Meadow has also been relaid.