Wolves tie could 'ignite' Salop's season - Turner
Graham Turner won promotion twice with both Shrewsbury Town and Wolves in his managerial career
- Published
Former Shrewsbury Town manager Graham Turner says Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie against another of his former teams, Wolverhampton Wanders, is a chance for the League Two strugglers to "express themselves" and potentially "ignite" their difficult season.
Salop are 22nd in the table, only two points clear of the relegation zone, having won four out of their 24 league games.
Turner began and ended his management career with Town, with his first spell between 1978 and 1984 before returning in 2010 for four more years, winning a promotion in each of his periods at the helm.
He says he hopes current Shrewsbury head coach Michael Appleton can make the team believe they can give Wolves - in a fight to hang on to their Premier League status this season - a run for their money at Molineux.
"He'll be talking about hard work and discipline," Turner told BBC Radio Shropshire.
"The team have got to be well organised but don't need to be motivated. If you're not motivated at a game like this they shouldn't be playing.
"It's up to the manager to emphasise what they're good at and get them to play with freedom.
"Nobody expects a result for Shrewsbury, so you've got that freedom to go and express yourself. The FA Cup could ignite a season."
In between his two stints with Shrewsbury, Turner took charge of Aston Villa for two years in the mid 1980s before spending eight years at Wolves, where he helped revive the club back from the fourth tier to the second before leaving in early 1994.
Saturday's 12:15 GMT kick-off is the third time Shrewsbury and Wolves have met in the competition.
Turner was in charge in the first game - a quarter-final in 1978-79 that went to a replay, which Wolves won - before history repeated itself in the fourth round in 2018-19.
Turner also took Town to the last eight in 1981-82 where they were beaten by Leicester City.
He faced Wolves four times as Salop boss, and beat Town once in charge of Wanderers - over two legs in the second round of the EFL Cup in 1991-92.
"You keep that affinity - I had a great time at both clubs," Turner said.
"I was a Wolves supporter as a boy and to get to manage them was a dream come true while Shrewsbury gave me my first opportunity as a manager and I'll always be grateful for that.
"All I want is for both sides to do themselves justice."
Cup upset is 'asking an awful lot'
Turner says the "immaculate" condition of most pitches now makes it harder for lower-league clubs to upset the big sides, with the "quagmire" like surfaces experienced in his career a thing of the past.
"There were three or four inches of mud - it was a great leveller and big clubs didn't like coming and it made giant killings more prevalent," Turner said.
"Supporters love nothing more than a good cup run and at Shrewsbury we had a couple of quarter-finals which was tremendous and ignited the support for the club.
"Shrewsbury have got to go and perform to the best of their ability and hope Wolves are a bit out of things and we might see a surprise.
"But it's asking an awful lot for Shrewsbury to beat Wolves."
All the build up and full radio commentary of Wolverhampton Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town will be available from 10:00 GMT on BBC Radio Shropshire and online, via BBC Sounds and smart speakers with with live text commentary and highlights on the BBC Sport website and app.