Gareth Ainsworth Outlines Vision for Shrewsbury Town, Cautions on Initial Challenges

New head coach Gareth Ainsworth, who led Wycombe to League One promotion in 2020, has cautioned that his goal of revitalizing Shrewsbury Town’s performance will initially involve “a little bit of pain”. Ainsworth, aged 51, secured an initial 18-month contract on Wednesday, having been selected from a group of five potential candidates. He takes over from Paul Hurst, whose dismissal occurred 10 days prior after Shrewsbury’s FA Cup first-round loss to League Two team Salford City. Ainsworth’s tenure will commence with a challenging home fixture against Birmingham City on 23 November. His primary objective is to halt a streak of six consecutive losses across all competitions, a run that began after their 5-3 victory at Crawley Town on 12 October, which was only their second win in 15 league matches this season. Speaking to BBC Radio Shropshire, Ainsworth stated, “I know the table doesn’t make for great reading at the moment, but I intend to change that.” He further elaborated on his vision: “But before I can change that, I want to change what people see on the pitch – I want to make a change where fans will come in and go ‘I see a difference, I see what they are trying to do’.” He acknowledged potential initial difficulties, adding, “There could be a little bit of pain at the start, but I’m asking for patience and I’m asking for the town to get behind us and to buy into what we are trying to do.” His new role as Salop’s manager marks Ainsworth’s return to League One, a division where he previously achieved significant success as the manager of Wycombe Wanderers. In 2018, he led the Chairboys to promotion from League Two, and two years later, he guided them to the Championship for the first time ever. After a single season, they were relegated back to the third tier in 2021. However, he made a return to the Championship in February 2023 upon his appointment as QPR boss. Having managed Wycombe for over ten years, Ainsworth expressed his desire to replicate his achievements at Adams Park with Shrewsbury. He stated, “Of course it’s going to be a tough division for someone the size of us to try to complete in, but there is ways. And I intend to find these ways and find them in droves to get enough points to survive in League One.” He further articulated his ambition: “And I aim to make this club a successful football club.” Reflecting on his past, he added, “It took me quite a while to do that at Wycombe Wanderers, but if I could have the grace to be here in 10 years at Shrewsbury Town, then it means something has gone fantastically right and we will be fighting at the top.” He concluded with a pragmatic outlook: “But I’m under no illusion that right now we must start getting away from the bottom of the league and picking up points where we can.” Ainsworth conveyed that he “got a good feeling” about the Shrewsbury position immediately upon his arrival and following discussions with chairman and owner Roland Wycherley and director of football Micky Moore. Despite Wycherley’s intention to sell the club after 28 years, Moore affirmed that the decision to appoint Ainsworth was made by the board without any “outside influences”. Following Paul Hurst’s departure, Town coach Sean Parrish oversaw Shrewsbury for two matches: a 2-0 loss at Burton Albion on Saturday, which sent the club to the bottom of the League One standings, and a 3-0 defeat in the EFL Trophy against League Two team Walsall on Tuesday. After Tuesday’s defeat, Parrish expressed his frustration to BBC Radio Shropshire, stating, “I’m disappointed, let down, angry, fuming. Whatever words you want to use. I told them collectively and individually, it’s just not good enough.” He further criticized the team’s defensive performance: “The way we defend, the way we stop crosses, the way we mark in the box. We don’t win first headers or second balls. We’re not going to keep clean sheets if we defend like this.” Parrish concluded by emphasizing the need for improvement: “Whoever comes in deserves better. And the only way to do it is by working harder.”