Shrews have special quality for new boss

JOHN Askey admits he needed ‘something special’ to entice him away from Macclesfield Town after he became the new manager of Shrewsbury Town.

Askey brought his long association with Macc to an end in order to become the new manager of the League One side, signing a three-year deal.

The 53-year-old leaves the Moss Rose having guided Macclesfield back into the Football League following their National League title win during the latest campaign.

Askey said it was a tough choice to leave the Silkmen, but felt that managing Shrewsbury was too good an opportunity to turn down.

“It’s a big wrench to come and it had to be something special for me to come. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and testing myself,” said Askey.

“It’s all happened so quickly, but it’s a great move for me. Last season Shrewsbury had a great season and it’s whether we can reproduce that again. Obviously, we will be trying our best and I am looking forward to it.

“Everything’s set-up to do well. Obviously they’ve got a great chairman and everything I hear about the club is good, whether it’s from players or whether it’s been from managers, so that’s the reason why I’ve come.”

Askey has also revealed that his aim with new club Shrewsbury is to try and do one better than last year and successfully earn promotion to the Championship.

“My hopes are to get Shrewsbury promoted. Whether that will be next season, or in another year or two, you’ve got to aim high and it’s about winning – that’s my job,” he said. “I know a lot of the players, I’ve seen them play, a lot of them have played at a lower level and they’re hungry, and they’ve show this season what they can do.

“The secret now it to reproduce that again. We will be trying our hardest and I’m sure the players will be. If they can give the same effort that they showed last season then there’s no reason why they can’t.”