Paul Hurst slams stay away Shrewsbury fans and 'eerie' home atmosphere
Disappointed boss Paul Hurst blasted Shrewsbury fans for not turning out as his side conceded a late equaliser against in-form Gillingham.
Abu Ogogo's opener was cancelled out nine minutes from time by Mark Byrne's late screamer and Hurst blamed the 81st minute strike on an individual error as Toto Nsiala twice failed to clear the ball.
But Hurst's main gripe was with the sub-5,000 attendance on a half term Tuesday night at Montgomery Waters Meadow, the edginess in the stands and booing at the final whistle.
The result made it four home games without a win in League One for Hurst's men, who failed to return top of the third tier.
"It's looking to me now as though one or two are having a dip in confidence and I don't know why," Hurst admitted.
"Our form hasn't been quite as good as what it has been but we're not on a massive losing streak.
"We still could've gone top of the league tonight and we still seemed edgy.
"I don't think the crowd have helped with that. I think they played their part. I'm disappointed with the numbers. We're top of the league and there's less than 5,000 here.
"It's easy when things are flying. We're talking about standards well lets be at the game.
"So credit to the ones that did turn up but I want them louder. It felt almost eerie stood on the side particular after we get 1-0 up."
Hurst, whose side remain second, continued: "Yes (it's expectancy).
"I had my former manager here (Ronnie Moore) and he commented to me and in an article that he was amazed by it. We've had some boos tonight, there's frustration I get that.
"We need to just remember what we were supposed to be. Yes we've done better, we may have peaked.
"It didn't feel like I was the manager of a club that could have gone top of the league tonight. People did not like that.
"If you just landed as a football fan and said 'we're going to go to this game'. Would you have thought they could go top? I didn't."
On Town's goalscorer Ogogo, his first strike in 22 months, Hurst added: "We spoke about the requirement of being men at this stage of the season and he stands out because that's what he is."
