Shrewsbury CEO Brian Caldwell: Steve Cotterill's strong character helped him back
Chief executive Brian Caldwell reckons it was Steve Cotterill’s strength of character that helped the Shrewsbury boss recover swiftly from serious ill health.
Cotterill was missing from action for four months having contracted Covid-19 around the turn of the year, barely a month after joining the club.
He worked wonders from his Bristol hospital bed, where the boss endured two stays, and his home as he recovered on the job – guiding Town to League One safety.
“You have to hand it to the players as well, they didn’t down tools, they got behind the management staff and made sure we got to the end of the season safe and unscathed despite everything that has been thrown at us,” Caldwell told The Sport Report's Jonny Drury.
“We’ll never see a season like that again I doubt, and it is just great Steve is well on the road to recovery really.
“If it wasn’t for his strong character he might not have come back as strong as he has done.”
Shrews’ squad initially showed a remarkable response in securing results without their boss in the dugout, securing sufficient points to eventually pull to safety.
Results tailed off as efforts caught up with the squad both emotionally and physically and Cotterill has since undergone the start of a rebuild, having released almost all of his out-of-contract players.
“We were at a point where we were trying to say to Steve, you need to back off a little bit because your health comes first,” Caldwell added. “To be fair he tried to but still being involved with the day to day running of the side from his hospital bed gave him a focus, and helped him on his road to recovery in my opinion.”
