Shrewsbury Town’s decade in League One: The arrival of Steve Cotterill
After Covid-19 had curtailed the end of the previous campaign, Shrewsbury got back into football action the following year completing a 46-game season.
Town fans had to wait until September for their league campaign to begin, and Salop took on Portsmouth on the opening day.
Of course, with the coronavirus still having devastating impacts all over the world, the stadiums were empty.
After a couple of successful years in the cup competitions and a memorable two-legged clash against Liverpool the season before, Town were unable to recreate their cup successes.
They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at Middlesbrough before their League One campaign had even got under way.
In the FA Cup, they were beaten in the third round by Southampton at St Mary's.
But it was their league form which was concerning at the start of the campaign. They won just one game from September through to the start of December, which ultimately was the reason Sam Ricketts was replaced.
Ricketts was sacked at the end of November along with his number two Dean Whitehead with Town 23rd in the table - his final game was the 2-2 draw at MK Dons.
Just two days later, Steve Cotterill was appointed. He had led Bristol City to a League One and EFL Trophy double in 2015 and had previously won League Two with Notts County.
Cotterill signed a three-and-a-half-year deal in Shropshire, which became his ninth job in football.
There was an immediate improvement for Town as they won three games back-to-back almost instantly - all by a 1-0 scoreline.
The first was at Hull City, Charlie Daniels with the game's all-important goal just before the half-hour mark. The second was at Lincoln when club legend Shaun Whalley fired Salop to victory.
The third came at Doncaster when Aaron Pierre guided them to the third consecutive away win.
Town's form under Cotterill was excellent in the first part of his reign. They lost just twice in his first 14 League One matches, and that fired them up the league table and away from danger.
But while Town were doing so well on the field, Cotterill caught Covid-19 and became incredibly ill. He ended up spending 33 days in Bristol Royal Infirmary Hospital - which included a period in intensive care.
He later had to be re-admitted to hospital after contracting Covid-pneumonia.
His assistant Aaron Wilbraham was in charge of the team during his absence with Cotterill keeping a close on things remotely.
He later admitted that he had been scared to go to sleep at stages such was the devastating impact of the virus.
After being 23rd in the table, Town responded well and ended up finishing 17th in the division with 54 points - their goal difference was impressive too, just -7.
Whalley ended up being the top scorer in the league. He got nine goals in 38 appearances. Josh Vela and Ethan Ebanks-Landell were the only players to start more than 40 league games for Town that season.
