Ian Sharps: Steve Cotterill the key for Shrewsbury success
Promotion-winning captain Ian Sharps reckons Shrewsbury Town's appointment of Steve Cotterill last season was a coup.
Popular club captain Sharps played a key role in helping Graham Turner's men to promotion from League Two in 2012 and maintains his two-year stint at Salop was the most enjoyable of his 18-year professional career.
The former centre-half, now 40 and elite lead coach at Wolves' under-16s after spells as Chester No.2 and Walsall coach, still keeps an eye on Town's progress and hopes his former side can be in the mix to upset the League One big guns next season.
Sharps first came up against a Cotterill outfit more than a decade ago and feels the club's efforts to appoint such a reputable boss deserve praise.
"I first came across Cotterill at Notts County, I was at Rotherham and about 25. We played them and their team won the league, he did really well," said Sharps, who played 97 games in two seasons at the club.
"He'd gone to Bristol City and I watched him there, he's a really successful manager who has done really well. It was a great thing for the club to get him.
"Obviously I haven't seen a game for the last six months because of Covid, but I've watched from afar and it looks like they've become quite a solid outfit again.
"It's going to be a hard league next season, normally in football you finish where your budget it, I have no idea what that is but I hope they do well and can upset a few."
Sharps' first taste of coaching academy football was during his time as a player at Shrewsbury where he helped former academy coach Matt Rains coach an under-16 age group that included Ryan Barnett, Ryan Sears and Callum Roberts.
He turned down the offer of a third year at Oteley Road and opted to return to former club Rotherham despite an instrumental role in the promotion under Turner, a move he admits was a mistake.
Sharps, who played more than 600 career games, said: "Probably when I look back on my career it's the fondest memories I had, my favourite times.
"I made a mistake leaving, but these things happen, don't they? We had a great time with some great lads here too at the time.
"The club offered me a contract and I wanted a bit longer, it wasn't really about money. It was probably a year longer and another club came in and offered me it.
"At the time you think it's right but looking back...hindsight is easy. If I stayed another year and played badly it might be looked back on differently."
