Shrewsbury Town urged to play with a smile by Paul Hurst

Hurst is wary of the squad's muted atmosphere and, while unable to pinpoint a specific explanation, believes his charges should be in much better spirits.

Shrewsbury remain bottom of League One and five points adrift of safety following Saturday's goalless draw with Port Vale, but Hurst believes there is still ample time to turn the season on its head.

"It seems to be a bit quiet, a quiet group," Hurst said. "I don't know if they're mulling things over or still feel like they're getting to know myself and Chris (Doig).

"Chris said we want a bit more from them. Yes, it's work in one sense but it's a good job!

"Let's not try and get too down too quickly. We didn't lose on Saturday, there are still a lot of things to play for and there are positives that we can look at.

"I understand it's a bit cold, but run about and get warm.

"I said it was a fresh start. Since I've come in we've had one proper disappointment and it's not been too bad at all.

"We want to get better, but there's time to have fun with it as well. I'm a believer you can have fun while working hard. It's not just having a mess about and go home.

"Play with a smile on your face, enjoy running and tackling and scoring a goal."

Hurst pointed to a former member of the Salop squad, who has since departed to join Micky Mellon at Tranmere, and added: "Maybe it's characters you need too.

"He's not here any more, and without wishing to look back – but Andy Mangan is a character.

"Sometimes you need a joker. Within every group you'll have a moaner, people that don't say much. We need something and maybe it's something we'll look at."

Town are staging a practice match at Greenhous Meadow today with younger members of the squad expected to earn a chance to impress.

Jack Grimmer and Gary Deegan, who both picked up impact injuries against Vale, missed training yesterday but should be fine for Saturday's FA Cup tie with Fleetwood.