John Askey confirmed as new Shrewsbury Town manager
John Askey has today been confirmed as the new Shrewsbury Town manager after he signed a three-year deal.
The 53-year-old joins Salop from Macclesfield after Town agreed a compensation package with the Silkmen, who Askey guided to the National League title by 10 points last year.
Askey was granted permission to speak to Town after Paul Hurst's move to Ipswich was confirmed on Wednesday.
And this morning Shrewsbury confirmed they'd agreed a three-year deal for Askey, who said he'd be trying to replicate last season's success.
Something special
“I’m excited about the challenge ahead”, Askey told ShrewsWeb.
“It’s all happened so quickly, but it’s a great move for me. Last season you had a great season and it’s whether we can reproduce that again. Obviously, we will be trying our best and I am looking forward to it.
“It’s a big wrench to come and it had to be something special for me to come. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and testing myself."
Askey, who is said to have a reserved approach similar to Hurst, was given the freedom of Macclesfield earlier this month after winning the league despite having one of the division’s more modest budgets.
He has a 35-year association with the Cheshire club, having spent 19 years there as a player and managing them since 2013.
Hungry
“Everything’s set-up to do well," he added.
"Obviously you’ve got a great chairman and everything I hear about the club is good, whether it’s from players or whether it’s been from managers, so that’s the reason why I’ve come.
“I know a lot of the players, I’ve seen them play, a lot of them have played at a lower level and they’re hungry, and they’ve show this season what they can do.
“The secret now it to reproduce that again. We will be trying our hardest and I’m sure the players will be. If they can give the same effort that they showed last season then there’s no reason why they can’t.
Promotion?
“My hopes are to get Shrewsbury promoted. Whether that will be next season, or in another year or two, you’ve got to aim high and it’s about winning – that’s my job.”
Askey will take over a Town side that suffered play-off heartbreak at Wembley for the third time last week when they lost 2-1 to Rotherham after finishing third in League One.
He has enjoyed fine success unearthing players from lower levels and was in charge of the Silkmen's youth team when Town's James Bolton progressed through the ranks.
He has also worked with Arthur Gnahoua, who made Town's retained player list yesterday.
