Head coach Paul Hurst wants his Shrewsbury Town players to take more care when they are in possession of the football.
Town played a competitive match against top-of-the-table Portsmouth for seventy-seven minutes on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately lost 3-1 at Fratton Park.
Hurst, though, has set high expectations for himself since taking over as Shrewsbury’s manager a second time. He expressed disappointment with his team’s performance against Bristol Rovers and stated that his team needs to improve in possession following the loss against Pompey.
“At the beginning, we were behind 1-0 and we continued to give up the ball. Without them threatening our goal, we were definitely giving up territory and possession when we ought to have had a spell on the board,” Hurst stated.
“However, as I’ve already stated, if we’re going to make an effort to get better, keeping the ball is one thing we can do better. They can do it, and they did it on Saturday, but not frequently enough to really deflate the opposition or generate opportunities.
A small portion of you either possesses it or not. However, we are aware of the locations where some of these boys have played.
“It involves practicing positive habits, which begin on the training field, and being really concentrated and present in the moment. We make an effort to convey that to them, and there are lots of passing exercises and similar activities.
Over the weekend, Town’s luck continued, as only Port Vale, who drew with Wigan, gained ground on them in the league standings.
Hurst finds it upsetting when his squad plays carelessly, though, because he takes pride in their performance and their collective growth.
He then on, “One of my frustrations from the first half was that we didn’t look after the ball nearly well enough.” Although the stadium and the spectators are excellent, we have skilled players on our team.
You might be able to obtain it if I bring the youth squad or a group of 18-year-olds here.
It took us a bit to get into it because some more seasoned players were giving the ball away far too cheaply in the beginning.
“We looked okay after that, but we really need to improve our ball handling, especially when facing Portsmouth’s calibre of offensive players.”
Next weekend will mark a turning point in Salop’s season.
They play Wycombe Wanderers at the Croud Meadow, and Town needs to strive to take advantage of the opportunity given the really difficult games that lie ahead, such as trips to Bolton and The Valley to play Charlton Athletic.
Hurst’s team has an edge because Wycombe plays Derby in midweek in addition to their EFL Trophy final at Wembley yesterday.
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