Paul Hurst: Louis Dodds told me he was ready for Shrewsbury Town survival fight

The top scorer, who didn't make it off the bench during last Tuesday's defeat to Millwall, went to see Hurst on Thursday to let the Shrews chief know that he was fully focused on helping Town away from trouble.

And the 10-goal former Port Vale attacker was selected in attack alongside match-winner Stefan Payne, where he caught the eye with intense harrying of the Rochdale backline.

The 30-year-old insisted to Hurst he hadn't downed tools in a honest meeting at the Meadow.

"I know what I'm going to get from Doddsy," said Hurst.

"He came to see me on Thursday and just said that 'I want you to know I'm ready. I want to play and I've certainly not downed tools'. I'd never questioned that he had!

"And I told him 'good'. We had a general chat about life. He's the right character, I said that as soon as I came in. He's the type of lad we want around and he hasn't sulked for one moment when he hasn't been in the team."

The arrival of West Brom youngster Tyler Roberts on loan in January saw Dodds feature on the left flank, with sections of support questioning whether the two could play together.

"Doddsy's problem is trying to figure out the best place to play him because he can do more than one, but it does affect how you set the team up at times," added Hurst.

"It was ideal against Rochdale, naturally he will drop in. He caught the lad that we told him to attach himself too, the deep-lying midfielder, but they put two lads in there which made it but more difficult."

Hurst has been a fan of the running stats chalked up by Dodds, who has become a fans' favourite in his first term with Salop.

"His running is right up there," the boss added. "He's not got the electric pace by any stretch but his movement's good, he's clever. He won't just stand up front and be lazy, that's for sure."