Paul Hurst keen to up the ante at Shrewsbury Town

The Town chief was critical of his players' display in the 1-0 Montgomery Waters Meadow defeat against Walsall last week and was keen to up the ante in the 11-day international break.

Shrewsbury trained hard at Sundorne Castle at the tail-end of last week and, after a weekend off, return today for preparation ahead of a busy League One schedule.

Hurst goes to his former side Rotherham on Saturday before a Tuesday night trip to Bury and the visit of last season's beaten play-off finalist Bradford.

"For me now it just means there's extra focus and attention on the training ground, with intensity to what we do," said Hurst.

"When we're working, then we're working. I think some players need to just have a little re-think and focus about the job and what's expected of them.

"After Walsall there was an element that I was glad we've had some training days. We'll get into the players.

"I'm looking forward to it (Rotherham) for obvious reasons anyway but it'll be good because there'll be a great atmosphere in the ground and we'll take a decent following.

"We're going to have major improvement if we're going to get anything there.

"We need to get back to what we're good at and we certainly have to be a lot better when it comes to playing Rotherham otherwise it'll be a lot more than 1-0."

Hurst opted for a 3-5-2 system in the first-half against Walsall, the first time he has played with a three-man defence and wing-backs this season.

He believed the change in formation did not account for his side's lacklustre display. Town predominantly used a 4-4-2 in Hurst's first season but a change to 4-1-4-1 has brought Shrewsbury success this time around.

The boss decided on a switch of shape to keep his players on their toes.

"We'd do a lot more work on that system if it was something I was particularly looking at," said Hurst.

"Players can sometimes have it easy and get used to certain things. There's nothing greater than giving them a responsibility and asking them to work a few things out for themselves.

"It was more the attitude to it all. It didn't give the system the chance to particularly work, rather than players' positions."