Bernard McNally: Hard for Shrewsbury Town to repeat success

I watched the Brentford game and I must admit that I wasn’t very optimistic then about Town’s chances for this season.

In between that, John Askey has brought in a few players – some midfielders – and that energy in the middle of the park was what they needed with Abu Ogogo leaving.

Josh Laurent has come in and, from what I’m hearing, has looked the part. He could be the one to marshal the midfield, put a foot in and break play up.

You’ve got to get the blend right and Aaron Amadi-Holloway has come in up front and got himself some goals over pre-season, which is always good – not just for him, but for the team.

Port Vale are old rivals for Salop and wrapping up the friendlies with a win against them is nice.

Now we’re at what matters though and, make no mistake, it is going to be such a tough act to follow.

What Paul Hurst did last year was almost like what Leicester did a few years ago when they won the Premier League.

We punched so much above our weight and John knows he’s got big shoes to fill.

I’m pleased he’s stepped up recruitment in the last couple of weeks and I’m sure he’ll be feeling a lot more relieved now.

It’s a big long tunnel ahead, the season, and they seem a lot more ready for it now after bringing a few names in.

I’m sure John looked at that Brentford game too, thinking of areas where he could strengthen – and he’s acted upon those now.

He’s been in the game a long time, he knows what is required, and at the end of the day a manager is only as good as the players he’s got. If you haven’t got the right players, you won’t succeed.

The message is to continue from last year. They’ve got the personnel still.

Hopefully they’ll have the luck they had last time around.

It’s hard to predict at this stage. I was very pessimistic a few weeks ago, I thought we were lacking in midfield but that’s been sorted.

I’m kind of hoping for that top 10 if we can. That’s a great place to start and anything else is an absolute bonus.

I think John will be with us a bit longer and he’ll be building long term.

Maybe get 10th, and then go further the following year.