Graham Turner has set his sights on bringing long term success to Shrewsbury Town after walking back through the door as manager – insisting: “We’re not here for a quick fix.”
Turner, 62, a legendary figure in Town’s history, said he was excited to have taken on the challenge of trying to bring the good times back to a club where he cut his teeth in management and went on to preside over the club’s halcyon years at the end of the 1970s and start of the 80s.
The vastly experienced boss, who has taken charge of more than 1,400 league games, added he was also looking forward to working with the wealth of young talent he’s inherited, stressing he would not be afraid to give youngsters the chance to shine at first team level.
“I’m here for three years, probably four, and I want to lay the foundations for long term success,” said Turner, re-appointed Town chief after a gap of 26 years.
“We’re not here for a quick fix. We won’t want to spend money we can’t afford and then pay a penalty at a later time.
“I want to make sure the foundations are laid for the long term success of the club and if it takes a little bit longer, that’s what we’ve got to aim for.
“Although I haven’t see too many of them play I’m impressed with the way people are talking about the youth policy here. I’m told there are one or two promising players who have just turned pro and I’m looking forward to seeing them.
“If you’re investing the sort of money the club have in the youth policy it has to produce players otherwise it’s a waste of time. But I’ll not be afraid to put young players in if they’re good enough and I’m hoping some of them are knocking on the door at the start of the season.
“Talking to Dave Hughes and Mike Jackson, they’re enthusing about one or two of the young players so it will be interesting to see.”
Turner, who led Hereford to promotion from League Two as recently as 2008, added he was confident of introducing a playing style to please fans who were often critical of the entertainment levels last season.
“We want to play with a bit of style,” he said. “We want to get the ball down and pass it and play with a good tempo. We achieved a little bit of success at Hereford with that style of play getting into the first division.
“I know Dagenham got success last season on very much a direct style of football but to each manager his own.
“We’ll work in training at getting the ball down and passing it, moving it forward. We’ll also educate the defenders that if the ball has to go in the stand occasionally, it has to go there, but I would like to think we could play a pleasing style.”
Turner loved living in Shrewsbury before work took him away from the area but revealed he plans to commute from his Herefordshire home for the time being.
“We’ll see how it goes but it’s quite a pleasant journey at the moment,” he said.
Turner, who led Town to the old third division title in 1979 and steered them to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup twice, added he was looking forward to the publication of the League Two fixtures today (Thursday) as he strives to tap into Shrewsbury’s potential.
“I would hope to replicate some of the achievements we had in the late 70s, early 80s,” he said.
“I really enjoyed cutting my teeth as a manager here and I got a great deal of help from those around me.
“A lot of them are still around the town, Ken Mulhearn, Jake King, people of that calibre, and they helped me enormously.
“Obviously a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. I’ve been to Aston Villa and Wolves and spent 15 years at Hereford. Being chairman there has also given me a different outlook on probably the financial and organisational side.
“The top priority is taking care of the playing side and making sure we’re in contention for a promotion place.
“The whole infrastructure of the club is sound, the supporter base is excellent and it should be capable of supporting a club in a higher league, maybe we can dream, in two divisions higher.
“When I left Shrewsbury they were in what is now the Championship playing some very big clubs. It was a very enjoyable period, having the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Chelsea coming down, and if we can get close to doing that again it would be a great achievement.”
Town, meanwhile, have been drawn at home to League One Charlton in the Carling Cup first round. The tie will be played during the week commencing August 9.
By Stuart Dunn