Five Shrewsbury Town gaffers and their first games in charge

Ideally, Salop would have someone in place for the clash against Burton Albion at the weekend, but if not, for the league clash against Reading a week later. 

So how have recent gaffers faired on their first game in charge of Shrewsbury?

Northampton 0-2 Shrewsbury - Paul Hurst 

The most recent boss's first game in charge was arguably the highlight of his tenure in his second spell in Shropshire as Town romped to victory at Sixfields Stadium. 

Salop had gone into the game on the back of seven defeats in eight matches which led to Matt Taylor losing his job. 

Dan Udoh's left-footed shot from distance powered Shrews into the lead just before the hour mark. 

Before skipper, Chey Dunkley added a second 15 minutes from time. 

Shrewsbury 1-0 Cheltenham - Matt Taylor 

Former Portsmouth midfielder Taylor was appointed in the summer of 2023, like Hurst, Taylor got off to a winning start. 

Ryan Bowman, the stand-in skipper for the day, scored the match-winning goal as he capitalised on Ben Williams' poor header back to the goalkeeper. 

Shrewsbury had a decent start under Taylor winning three of their first five league matches. 

Shrewsbury 1-0 Oxford City - Steve Cotterill 

The former Burnley and Nottingham Forest boss was appointed in November 2020 and he too won his first game in charge of Salop. 

His first clash was against Oxford City in the FA Cup, and he won that tie in extra time after Dan Udoh scored in the 108th minute. 

Aaron Pierre, currently a member of the Town squad, was sent off that day as Town made the third round of the competition for the fourth season running. 

Shrewsbury 2-1 Walsall - Sam Ricketts

The former Wolves defender left Wrexham to become Salop boss in December 2018. 

His first game was against the Saddlers in the EFL Trophy. 

Alex Gilliead, brought back to the club by Paul Hurst this summer, scored in the victory. Doug Loft also got on the score sheet for Town. 

Ricketts' first league game in charge of the Shropshire side was against Burton, which his side lost 2-1. 

Shrewsbury 0-1 Bradford City - John Askey 

The only one of Town's last five managers not to win their first game in charge as Town fell to a narrow defeat at home to Bradford on the opening day of the 2018-19 season. 

Jack Payne scored the game's decisive goal in the 20th minute to give the Bantams all three points.

But just like Hurst was on Sunday, Askey was sacked after losing to Salford in the FA Cup. 

The former Macclesfield manager's Shrewsbury team had won four of their 17 games of the season which ultimately led to his dismissal.