Paul Hurst set for talks with Shrewsbury Town trialist midfielder

Rossiter, who has spent time in the Football League with Fleetwood and Bristol Rovers and played for Rangers, put in a battling shift in his 70 minutes in front of a crowd of almost 3,000 at Croud Meadow, where Tommi O'Reilly and Tom Bloxham were on target for the hosts.

Hurst revealed to the Shropshire Star he will speak with Rossiter before leaving the stadium and set out plans for the midfielder, who has also been on trial at Stockport County this summer. The Liverpudlian could be set to feature in Shrewsbury's next friendly at neighbours AFC Telford United on Tuesday night.

Head coach Hurst said: "I thought the midfielder did pretty well. I thought he broke up play well, he clearly understands the position well.

"He showed a lot of knowhow out there, he won tackles. He impressed – certainly someone who was shouting for me to sign him – but for some people he wouldn't always be the obvious one, but he did a lot of things that his team-mates and staff would really be keen on.

"That is him as a player, everything I've seen, everything I've been told and heard. It's not a surprise but it's nice to see it live with your own eyes.

"We're not going to be absolutely set on one system, I want us to be able to adapt, but I think we're finding a preferred way of playing. But there's still a bit in terms of recruitment that will sway that. We haven't got loads of options, you look at the benches in the games, the opponents' are very different to our own.

"We've got to get more options, but I won't if they can't contribute or aren't good enough. The last couple of performances have shown I like to play how we currently are."

Hurst added on Rossiter: "To be fair to the player I'll speak to him now before he leaves and we'll decide the next plan of action.

"We're in tomorrow (the opening day) that's not for him, we'll train Monday and play at Telford on Tuesday. That could be part of the conversation. But either way it won't be something that drags on for very long, I'd expect a resolution by next week, so we'll see how those conversations go."

Goalkeeper Toby Savin made his first appearance for the club as he played the first 45 minutes. Striker John Marquis started for the first time. Savin's fellow goalkeeper Joe Young agreed a one-year deal on Saturday after a trial and played in the second half.

New loan striker signing Josh Kayode, from Rotherham, watched on from the sidelines and could make his first appearance at AFC Telford on Tuesday. Left-back George Nurse sat out through precaution of a minor knock.