Blackpool boss hails a Hurst class job at Shrewsbury Town

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Hurst has transformed the fortunes of Shrewsbury, having originally kept them up in his first season before having them in contention for automatic promotion this year.

Unfortunately for the Shrews they have just fallen short, with Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers already clinching their returns to the Championship, but Hurst’s side still have the opportunity of getting up via the play-offs.

“They’ve had a fantastic season,” Bowyer said.

“I think ourselves and Shrewsbury were two of the sides tipped for relegation but Hursty has just done outstanding, he’s been brilliant.

“What I really love is that people have been waiting for Shrewsbury to slip up and drop out of the play-offs or drop out of the top 10. But they haven’t and they’ve kept going.

“I’ve been really interested in what he’s been doing in the last couple of games because he’s taken the opportunity to give some of the players a rest and to try and play different systems.

“That’s all part of his plan to gear up to the play-offs and his attention to detail on that front is particularly impressive.

“So it’s no surprise he’s getting linked with clubs in the Championship. He’s another example why clubs should look closer to home rather than just going out and finding the next foreign manager.

“I think the likes of Paul Hurst have got to be considered for big, big clubs.

“That’s not saying Shrewsbury aren’t a big club, I just think he’s done an absolutely unbelievable job there.

“For us, it’s the next game. I said a while back I want to win as many of the games we had left as possible.

“Saturday presents us with another opportunity to do that against very good Shrewsbury team.

“We want to make it five wins out of five but our focus is just on trying to win this game of football.

“If we can stay unbeaten in these last two games, that means you should enjoy the summer – well I certainly will.”