Shrewsbury Town debrief: A dream start - but what next for Salop?

But whatever Hurst and his assistant Chris Doig did in training last week it revitalised Shrewsbury, and they were excellent against the Cobblers getting their 2-0 victory – here are the main talking points from that game.

Goals

Salop scored a third of their away league goals in one game at the weekend. Town’s troubles putting the ball in the back of the net have been there for all to see so far this season – before kick-off, they had managed just 18 in their 28 League One games.

The biggest issue they have had is creating clear-cut chances, but that was not a problem in Northampton as they created enough to win multiple games of football.

If they had won 4-0 it would not have flattered them, and Hurst will hope that his side can maintain that when they head into their next clash against Cambridge this weekend.

System

One of the big questions before kick-off was what system will the new head coach play. After all, during Hurst’s incredibly successful first spell in charge at the football club, he had operated with a back four.

And he decided to go with that again, confirming post-match that is the system he prefers to work with.

What that did was it allowed Shrewsbury to get more of their best footballers on to the pitch, and it allowed them to have more bodies in advanced areas.

Staying grounded

The vast majority of this season has been fairly underwhelming, but Saturday was excellent.

However, it was just one game. The ‘new manager bounce’ was there for all to see. But it must have been hard for Northampton to prepare for that fixture.

They would have had very little idea what shape Town would play and what personnel Hurst would choose.

It was intriguing how Tom Bayliss played really high up the pitch when the Cobblers had the ball, almost as another centre forward.

When Town take on Cambridge this weekend, they will not have that element of surprise, so it will be a challenge to maintain it.

There is still plenty of work for Hurst and Chirs Doig to do and areas which they can continue to improve. The boss is aware of that and he pointed it out post-match.

Arrivals

After such a brilliant display it would be easy to say Town arguably do not need to bring too many players through the door between now and Thursday evening’s deadline.

But it would be naive to think this given how the previous 28 games of this season have gone. Hurst said he does not expect there to be much business between now and the end of the window, but he does have a few ideas.

He mentioned on Saturday that he is aware Morgan Feeney is not a right-back, but that he did well playing there at the weekend.

Town do not have an out-and-out one in the squad, so maybe that might be an area of the pitch they are trying to bring some reinforcements in.

Hurst was asked where he wants to make additions but kept his cards close to his chest. It is intriguing to see how the squad will look when it comes to Saturday, as that will be that until the summer.