Paul Hurst heaps praise on Shrewsbury Town match-winner Stefan Payne

The on-loan Barnsley forward netted his first goal in blue and amber with his strike proving enough for relegation-threatened Town to secure a crucial three points against Rochdale.

His inclusion for a second consecutive start drew mixed reviews from Shrews fans but the cool 16th-minute finish – the game's only goal – proved pivotal in lifting the club back out of the bottom four.

The 25-year-old's Shrewsbury career almost never started as he suffered a metatarsal injury just 10 minutes into his Town debut in February.

But Hurst was quick to dismiss any doubts surrounding Payne's ability and commitment, saying: "Genuinely, I'm not someone that trawls through social media or anything like that but you can't help but hearing one or two little bits – and it's very, very minor I would say.

"But if people can't see the effort he puts in...in the game on Tuesday, you look at his stats, and I don't want to sound like we just look at stats, the effort's there.

"I think he's been a little bit frustrated with everything. The loan move hasn't worked out for him exactly how he would have wanted it with that first game when he got injured.

"I'm really pleased for him. He could've quite easily been put off but it can only help his confidence going into these remaining games," Hurst added.

"I've seen him sprinting up and down on the training ground trying to make sure he's fit and ready to play."

Payne's foot injury was a repeat of a knock that kept him out for several months earlier in the campaign, ruining his debut season with Barnsley after a summer move up three leagues from National League Dover.

The forward had gone 23 games, in spells for Dover, Barnsley and Shrews, without netting before his winner.

Hurst added: "We're never going to get him absolutely 100 per cent with what he can be between now and the end of the season, that's impossible.

"But the 90 minutes the other day and the 60-odd against Rochdale was a big effort.

"Loan players sometimes get their commitment to the club questioned because it's only temporary. That can't be questioned so I'm more than happy."

Hurst went against his trend of spending the first-half of Greenhous Meadow games in the press box, opting for a touchline view.

"It felt like the right thing to do, I had it in my mind going into the game," he said. "Not that I'm not with them anyway, but I felt like I wanted to be there on the sideline.

"That's not why the players won. It wasn't because I wanted to top up a tan or anything like that – it just felt like the best thing to do.

"Whether I do it on Friday (against Walsall), I'll see."