Gaffer looks ahead to U's home game
Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Hurst is expecting a tough test when Oxford United visit the Montgomery Waters Meadow on Easter Monday.
Oxford recently appointed Karl Robinson as their manager and Paul believes that the Oxford players will be looking to impress their new boss.
“It’s another team that surprises me because having seen them early season I thought they’d be right in that Play-Off mix, because for me they’ve got some very good players.
“They’ve changed manager, it took a little while, but now Karl’s gone in there. He knows the division extremely well and obviously faced us not so long ago in one of his final games at Charlton.
“That brings a different proposition for me because now you’ve got a group of players that have to prove their worth to a new manager, so I think that game becomes more difficult, albeit I think it would have been anyway because I think they’ve got some good players.”
The game against Oxford is the first of five home games between now and the end of the season and Hurst believes the fans can play their part.
“Over the Easter period the crowds are usually good”, said Paul
“We had a good turnout last time and I said that I thought they were very vocal, got behind the team, and we will be asking for more of the same because I’ve no doubts that there will be some stages of the game where maybe we’re not on top and certainly there will be some tired bodies.
“I think Stef (Payne) mentioned it in his post-match interview about the boost it gives when the crowd are shouting your name or singing songs, because it makes you want to work harder.”