Paul Hurst happy to see Shrewsbury turn on style
Paul Hurst was impressed by stylish Shrewsbury as they outplayed Northampton to seal a deserved three points.
The hosts looked more organised than their visitors, while also playing some encouraging football in an opening-day win.
The Montgomery Waters Meadow boss wants his side to entertain and, with last season’s relegation scrap a memory, is expecting to see the fluid football they showed on Saturday on a more regular basis. He pointed to the squad’s athleticism as a factor in the pacy, direct football.
“It’s about winning games of football – there are lots of different styles,” said Hurst.
“On Friday, (Nottingham) Forest against Millwall, there were two very different styles going up against each other. Forest had a lot of the ball but Millwall had the better of the chances.
“Ultimately it’s about scoring goals to win games, so we don’t just want to be pretty.
“But I do feel that you can play in a certain manner and we had quite a bit of athleticism on show. We looked a threat, we got men forward.
“That last bit is the one where you have to pay money or it’s the hardest part that takes the most work.”
Lenell John-Lewis’ late strike secured the points for Salop, who were good value for their success.
Hurst added: “I wanted us to play well.
“Early on there’s an element of wanting to see the team functioning well.
“Last season, since I came in, it was all about results, it wouldn’t have mattered how badly we played – it was about results to stay in the division.
“We’re going to need results when we don’t play well but, if we can, we want to play in a certain manner, forward play and comfortable on the ball as well.”
