Paul Hurst: Craig MacGillivray signing a 'no-brainer'

The 24-year-old caught the eye of Hurst during Walsall 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury in April and monitored MacGillivray's movements at the Banks's Stadium, where he was released.

Hurst said: "They let him go but were complimentary. Everything we'd seen, with Danny (Coyne) looking at it in particular, we liked what we saw.

"In fairness it was one that has been in the background for a while. I spoke to him before our return for pre-season and at that point we weren't in a position to offer a deal.

"I was going to ask about him coming in to pre-season training and before I could he wanted to do that, he asked.

"Straight away that's a massive tick. Someone with a good attitude. For keepers he's a baby and has got some League One experience.

"For me it was almost a no-brainer in the end."

MacGillivray has admitted he has not moved to Shropshire to spend time on the bench as back-up. He played second-fiddle to Neil Etheridge for the majority of his Walsall spell.

And with Jayson Leutwiler missing most of pre-season on Canada duty, Hurst acknowledges he'll have a chance.

"He'll definitely get some minutes while Jayson goes away," the boss added. "We want competition across the squad and I know I'll have some headaches.

"I want it where I go to bed thinking about tough decisions in areas all across the pitch.