Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, bar a brief loan spell with Burton Albion in his final year as a player.
After retiring from the playing side of the sport in 2008, he became joint manager with former teammate Rob Scott at Ilkeston Town, then Boston United, before joining Grimsby Town in 2011. In the 2015–16 National League, he led Grimsby to promotion via the play-offs. Hurst moved on to become manager of Shrewsbury Town in October 2016, and saved the club from relegation from League One in his first season, while taking them to the EFL Trophy and League One play-off finals in 2018.
Hurst left Shrewsbury to join Ipswich Town in May 2018, but was sacked in October after a poor start to the season. After a spell as Scunthorpe United boss, he returned to Grimsby Town as manager in December 2020.
Playing career
During his time at Rotherham, Hurst featured regularly on the left side of the back four. He played over 430 league matches for Rotherham United.
He featured in the team that became champions of the Football League Trophy in April 1996, which resulted in a 2–1 win against Shrewsbury Town at Wembley Stadium.
Hurst signed a new two-year contract at Rotherham in 2004, keeping him at the club until June 2006.
On 15 February 2008, Hurst joined Conference National side Burton Albion on a one-month loan to regain his fitness after injury and extended the loan for a second month. He was released by Rotherham after 15 years at the club, at the end of the 2007–08 season. In 2008, Hurst stated that he wanted to return to Rotherham as part of the backroom staff in the future. Hurst had a trial at Mansfield Town but turned down a move before moving into management.
Management career
Ilkeston Town
Hurst and former Rotherham teammate Rob Scott were appointed joint managers of Northern Premier League Premier Division outfit Ilkeston Town in January 2009 following the departure of David Holdsworth to Mansfield Town. The pair led Ilkeston from 9th in the league to 2nd, and ultimately promotion to the Conference North via the play-offs following a 2–1 victory over Nantwich Town in the final. Afterwards, uncertainty surrounded whether or not they would remain at the helm of the Derbyshire club due to the club's worrying financial position.
Boston United
In May 2009, Hurst and Scott moved to York Street to sign as joint managers of Boston United. In their first season they gained a second successive promotion to the Conference North at the Horsfall Stadium with a 2–1 play-off final victory over Bradford Park Avenue. This completed a treble of trophies in the 2009–10 season as they had already collected the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup and Lincolnshire Senior Shield.
Grimsby Town
On 22 March 2011, both Hurst and Scott resigned from Boston. The following morning they were both announced as the new management team of Grimsby Town, replacing the sacked Neil Woods.
Grimsby, who had suffered relegation from the Football League in the previous season, had hoped for an instant return, but following a mid-season slump this led to the sacking of the previous manager. Hurst and Scott could only salvage an 11th-place finish at the end of the 2010–11 campaign. During the summer months the duo bolstered Grimsby's ranks in order for a promotion push, but were hit by a blow, as previous season's top scorer and Player of the Year Alan Connell left to join Swindon Town. The eventual signing of Liam Hearn was a suitable replacement as he scored 32 times during the 2011–12 season, a year which saw 'The Mariners' slide away out of contention for a play-off spot in the final few months of the season. Grimsby finished 11th in the Conference National.