Brian Caldwell: 'Gut feeling' told us Paul Hurst was the man for Shrewsbury Town

"No harm to Micky but I'm pleased with how Paul and Chris have changed things on the park," he immediately responded during our sit down to mark his first anniversary in Shropshire.

"At the end of the day, if you get things right on the park then it helps all the other things.

"We always felt if we could hang in the pack until January (we'd be OK) but we did better than that and hopefully now we continue our push up the table and away from the danger area."

There's an old saying 'go with your gut feeling'. For all concerned with Shrewsbury Town, it certainly paid off.

For Paul Hurst was not a name similar in stature to a Kenny Jackett. Supporters were craving a glamorous name – but the club were seeking out desire, attitude, hunger and ambition.

"I think there was a gut feeling with us before even meeting Paul and sometimes you do go with your gut," Caldwell added.

"Probably because we'd done the due diligence – you're able to go with your gut.

"We both had a gut feeling that he was what we expected and what we wanted."

Caldwell arrived from St Mirren last February, replacing the outgoing Matt Williams. He and wife Noreen relocated to Prees, some 300 miles away from their children and family.

Aside from welcoming Manchester United in his first week, it's been a busy 12 months for the 48-year-old. Moving to a new training ground, regular meetings with the club's Supporters' Parliament, building relationships within the region, plotting a Lidl supermarket on site and exploring avenues to meet the 'magical' 6,000 home attendance have taken up his time.

A recent ticket offer for the AFC Wimbledon game, where just 300 away fans made the trip north, boasted a gate of 5,751.

A busy man. Someone that, by his own admission, can only relax at home and on holiday if his phone is on.

The Scot's first seven months with the club were spent with Micky Mellon.

But you can sense a real wave of excitement in his demeanour when talking about the months with Hurst.

"They're very different characters," Caldwell reflected. "I didn't see a lot of Micky, whereas Paul's very much the opposite.

"He comes up and speaks to the chairman and I all of the time, almost every day or every second day. We chat about everything. Micky was a different character.

"Paul's a young, up-and-coming manager, he is certainly on the up from Grimsby after serving his apprentice at non-league.

"They have different styles, work ethics and ways of dealing with everything.

"Micky, if I'm honest, preferred never to get involved with the money side of things.

"He always let myself do the best deal, he knew roughly but passed it onto me. Whereas Paul seems to know everything.

"Paul will actually have most of the contract agreed prior to me even finalising it which saves me a lot of hassle as well!

"He's coming from that environment where it's been more hands-on, he's had to do more himself. I obviously will support him in any way I possibly can. We do talk a lot."

Noreen and Hurst's wife Melanie would likely join in agreement as Caldwell smiles: "During the (January) window, the first we worked together, we probably spoke to each other more than our wives! It was fairly non-stop.

"Even the eight (players) we got in and eight out, it could've been a lot more than that."

Another topic that gets Caldwell's pulse racing is the club's supporters. The chief executive is a massive fan of the passion that Salopians have for their club.

But he admits some of the criticism he receives does have an impact.

"The negativity has affected me quite badly, I've struggled with it." he said.

"Having said that, I have supporters emailing me and contacting me saying 'stay positive, keep your head up'.

"At every football club there is negativity. This is my third club and it's always been the same.

"There are a section that want to criticise no matter what you do. We need to continue being transparent and making improvements, listening to supporters.

"At the Supporters' Parliament, if there is 20 ideas of how we can improve things, then that's better than how 'I' think we can improve things.

"It's been different from what I've ever known before.

"I have been to every Supporters' Parliament I've been asked to go to.

"I've worked really closely with them and I hope we've made some really big strides over the year.

"We've listened, I have listened.

"I've made improvements to Super Blues Way and we've created the memorial garden which I think is a really good focal point.

"We obviously need to improve the matchday experience and get the young people to come to games and be fans of the future."