Shrewsbury Town set for a busier pre-season schedule

Town yesterday announced their first pre-season fixture ahead of the start of their 10th consecutive League One season on August 10.

They will travel to Oldham a week before the start of the season to take on the Latics at Boundary Park.

It will be Salop’s first visit there since September 2017, when Hurst’s side ran out 2-1 victors courtesy of goals from Stefan Payne and Jon Nolan.

That is the first fixture that has been announced so far this summer, and Hurst says Town fans can expect there to be a few more to come.

“I am going on what I was told, but we will play more than what was played here previously,” he said about pre-season games.

“In an ideal world with niggles and injuries, you want to get most of the players to have three 90 minutes before the season starts.

“It is not a hard and fast rule but it is something that we try to look at.

“I think it is important because you can do 11 v 11 on the training pitch and although it is still a – and I don’t like the word – friendly, it is different playing against opposition in house.”

Hurst currently has nine senior first-team players who are registered to the club after a major clear-out following the conclusion of last season.

So the Town boss, Micky Moore (director of football), Tom Ware (head of recruitment) and Chris Doig (assistant coach) have a lot of work to do between now and then to build a squad capable of competing in the third tier of the English game.

Hurst says friendlies also give fans the chance to see players for the first time while allowing him to see if his players can put into practice what they have been working on during training.

“I do think it is important,” he continued. “And it is nice for the fans as well on another level – they can go and watch new signings for the first time.

“We all know August 10 is when it really matters, but you want to see things being put into practice or at least being attempted, from the work you do on the training pitch.”