Paul Hurst hopes high-profile clash can serve Shrewsbury well in the long run
Shrewsbury manager Paul Hurst hopes the high-profile FA Cup tie with West Ham will stand his side in good stead for big games to come.
Town impressed on the national stage by taking the Premier League strugglers to a replay in a tie where they looked the more likely to progress.
Hurst’s men battle for a Checkatrade Trophy quarter-final place tomorrow evening and are in the automatic promotion spots in League One with a spring promotion run-in looking likely.
Saturday’s league encounter at Blackburn pits second against third and Town can put eight points between themselves and Rovers with a win.
“Nerves are always going to play a part,” said Hurst. “I got nerves before every game I played, sometimes more than others. It’s how you handle that. I always feel you play better and are up for the game if you have some nerves going into it.
“We’re hoping that there are going to be some really big games.
“It doesn’t really get much better than going against a Premier League team in front of the cameras and a big crowd for us.
“Hopefully that’ll hold us in good stead.”
The boss maintained that his side had faced tougher battles in League One this term, after limiting a toothless West Ham outfit to just a couple of tame efforts on goal.
“Bury (defeat) and the Wigan game certainly (were tougher),” Hurst added.
“Blackburn too, and we’ve got them in the league next. They’re different types of games, I don’t mean that being disrespectful to West Ham.
“But I really felt the game was there to be won. It’s easy for me to say, you never give away a pass and you score every chance when on the touchline.”
Meanwhile, Norwich midfielder Ebou Adams has completed his loan spell with Shrewsbury and has returned to the Canaries.
Town will be without defenders Omar Beckles and Mat Sadler for tomorrow’s Trophy visit of Blackpool. They will both serve a one-game suspension, while Ben Godfrey is also banned.
