Paul Hurst: Shrewsbury Town start has gone better than expected
Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Hurst admitted that his unbeaten start at the helm has dramatically exceeded expectations – but he will not be getting too carried away.
Salop are without defeat in four matches under the new boss, with successes in League One, the FA Cup and the Checkatrade Trophy built on three clean sheets as Hurst looks to shore up a previously porous backline.
But Town still lie five points adrift of safety in the third tier, and Hurst is all too aware that the job is far from finished.
Yes, by far," the boss revealed. "It's beyond what I expected. You hope you can go in and have some kind of affect. Maybe just a new person. One hundred per cent I know I'm not going to get carried away myself and I know Chris Doig won't, but for the rest of the staff, it's nice for them because they suffer.
"As a player you can go out in the next game to do something. But staff do their work on the training ground and it comes to a Saturday and, I'm sure there'll be occasions where you wonder if you were speaking Japanese in the week!
"But at the minute they're working, with a bit of freedom too."
Hurst hailed the aggression on display as Salop sealed a first League One clean sheet in almost three months.
It was the third in four games under the Yorkshireman, after shut-outs against Barnet in the FA Cup and in the Checkatrade Trophy against Middlesbrough in the seven days prior to Oxford's visit.
"I think it's just a willingness to defend," added Hurst. "The goals I'd watched prior to coming in looked a little bit too easy.
"Maybe there wasn't that real desire to get that clash of heads, or a cut or something by throwing your body on the line.
"Both keepers have done well when they've been called upon. It's that aggression in terms of defending and being proud to keep that clean sheet.
