Michael Appleton’s incredibly passionate response to the importance of recruitment

The Salop boss is always relaxed and composed in press conferences before and after matches. 

If he is frustrated by something, he will make that known, but it can be hard to tell from his mannerisms if Town have won or lost. 

But in his first press conference of the season last week, a question about the importance of recruitment in football saw the Town boss show immense passion about something he feels very strongly about. 

"Recruitment is the single most important thing in the game,” he said. “Forget coaching, forget anything that goes on in the classroom or anything like that. Forget nutrition, forget sports science, forget exercise, that's all part of it, but recruitment is the single most important thing for any football club's success. The single.

"I just play a part in trying to get them organised, play a certain way, but recruitment is the one. 

"Not all coaches, but I think some coaches at times get a little bit carried away and think it's about them. 

"Where ultimately, the best way I can put it, coaches do not win you games of football, players win you games of football. 

"Coaches play a part and you have to get the team organised, keep them disciplined and all that, so I get all that, I understand that, but the reality is we're all involved in football, whether it's reporting, whether it's watching, whatever it may be, to watch players and see how they perform and I'm no different.”

Shrewsbury have had a decent summer, bringing in seven new faces to the Croud Meadow ahead of the League Two campaign - which got under way with a draw against Bromley on Saturday. 

The club have had a clear recruitment plan which has seen them go after players who have been promoted in the EFL before. 

Appleton is aware that he will be able to have an impact on the players with 45 games of the season remaining, but he says it is down to them to deliver. 

"I'm excited that we've recruited as well as we possibly can within our restraints,” he continued. 

"Then obviously it's up to the players now to hopefully go and deliver that because you can affect it by maybe tweaking in the early parts of the game, but the only times you really get to affect it is at half time. 

"There are not many teams that will change their shape in the first half, and there are not many teams or coaches who will make changes before half time. 

"Tactically, some do, some are brave enough to do it, but half time is really the first time you get a chance to have an impact from a coach's point of view.

"It makes me laugh how some coaches sometimes take all the credit. The reality is, I'll be surprised if any player that's ever worked with me says we've not been absolutely, totally prepared going into the game, as well as they could ever be."