Town manager recently celebrated 35 years as a football boss

Graham Westley says it is a surprise to see talent like Graham Turner’s at League 1 level ahead of a meeting between Stevenage and Turner’s Shrewsbury Town tomorrow (Saturday).

The Shrews manager, who counts Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers among his former sides, last week celebrated 35 years as a football manager and is currently in his second spell in charge of Town after he rejoined them in 2010.

Speaking ahead of the tomorrow’s match about the man who brought Steve Bull to Wolves from rivals West Brom in 1986, Westley said Turner has a habit of producing ‘sides that play good football’.

“He’s won six promotions in that time. He’s a wily character, Graham. He’s been around the block,” Westley told the club’s website.

“He’s managed some big clubs in his time, he’s been at Villa, been at Wolves. It’s surprising really to see talent like his at this level, but he is at the level and he’s got a habit of producing sides that play good football, teams that can win games and he’s never an easy man to pit your wits against.

“His sides always get themselves together. He’ll have a couple of my old players playing there [Paul Parry and Nicky Wroe], both of whom I had at Preston, and he’ll get an organisation together and a game plan together and he’ll bring that.

“We’ve been at our best in recent weeks when our focus has been on us, our focus has been on our game, the way we’re going to play, on putting our game on the opposition.

“We all know that our place is a difficult place to come; take the Rotherham game to one side, our form at home has been good. It’s a question for us of building on that form.

“We know how to play at home. It’s a question for us of getting our game on the opposition and making it a difficult afternoon for us.”