An excellent 3-0 victory at play-off hopefuls Crewe Alexandra took the Mariners to within one point of safety, but a disappointing 2-0 reverse at fellow relegation strugglers Colchester United has left David Artell’s side with work still to do going into their final two games of the season.
Despite that uncertainty, however, the Grimsby boss has already alluded to his future plans, telling Grimsby Live that he expects it to be a ‘big summer ahead.’
Speaking to the local news outlet after his side’s dominant weekend win at his former club, Artell was keen for that performance to become a more regular occurrence. “We’ve got to be more consistent. It’s not going to come overnight, and obviously we’ve got a big summer ahead of us, but there is some ability in this group.”
The former Gibraltar international was balanced in his comments, and though there are many obvious areas that require attention over pre-season if the Mariners are to progress next term – hopefully, still as an EFL side – Artell maintained there are parts of his squad that can be part of that improvement.
“We’ve got to keep making them better, and if we do that, then we’ve got a chance of performing like this on a regular basis.”
The Mariners failed to reach those levels of performance in Tuesday’s defeat at the JobServe Community Stadium, however, and while Artell claimed the Mariners were the “better side” for a large portion of the match, the reality is Grimsby have failed to win back-to-back games all season, lacking that consistency once again as they produced a very laboured display by comparison to that just a few days earlier.
It has been the story of the season for the Blundell Park outfit in truth. Sporadic good performances and results followed up by poor ones, which can be viewed as a key factor as to why Grimsby Town are not yet safe from the drop back down to non-league for a third time heading into the campaign’s penultimate weekend, as Mariners fans remain on tenterhooks, desperate for their side to get over the line and consign what has been a difficult season to the history books.
Six key areas that require improvement through the summer
Mariners fans will all have their individual opinions on what has gone wrong this season and how to go about rectifying that. Looking at the season broadly, though, there are six obvious deficiencies and aspects or attributes lacking in Artell’s squad that need addressing if Grimsby are to compete better against their rivals moving forward.
The most obvious issue is the lack of pace within the current group. While the likes of Charles Vernam, Abo Eisa, and Donovan Wilson are no slouches, that searing, game-changing speed that many other sides have is missing, and this both limits how the Mariners can go on the offensive, while also allowing their opponents to squeeze the play without the fear of being caught by a swift counter-attack too often.
League Two level demands physicality. If you struggle to compete in this way, it’s difficult to win football matches. Dominating set-plays and picking up second balls with regularity is a vital component in any successful fourth-tier side, and it’s fair to say the Mariners need to add more power and strength to their squad to achieve this. The January additions of Curtis Thompson and Doug Tharme have certainly helped in this regard, but the continuance of adding some tenacity throughout the squad will need to be forthcoming over the pre-season break.
The current Grimsby Town squad, perhaps, has a dearth of depth and variety is crucial areas. While the Mariners players can rarely be found wanting in terms of effort, there’s an obvious absence of genuine quality on the ball, which, when added to the aforementioned scarcity of pace, makes it very difficult for them to create plentiful chances regularly. Bringing in a sprinkling of technical flair will be another thing for David Artell to tick off his summer to-do list.
Finally, the Grimsby squad needs a few more leaders. Danny Rose, Curtis Thompson, and Gavan Holohan provide that, but adding a couple more individuals with that ability to lift others and lead by example would be hugely helpful moving forwards. Battle-hardened, experienced footballers are paramount in League Two. Players who can read the game, know how to slow things down and speed things up when the time is right, along with a thorough understanding of game management overall; these are often the difference at decisive moments. Again, the Mariners could benefit a great deal by adding a few more players with that skill-set.
League Two relegation permutations
As mentioned, Artell’s Grimsby side still require a point to confirm their League Two status for next season. Avoiding defeat at home to Swindon Town on Saturday or away at Crawley Town on the final day will see them safe.
Following their victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night, Colchester require another three points from their three remaining matches against Notts County (A), Doncaster Rovers (H) and Crewe Alexandra (H) to mathematically achieve Football League survival.
Waiting for either the Mariners or the U’s to slip up is Sutton United, who require Grimsby to lose both remaining fixtures, while the Yellows win both of their games against Crawley Town (H) and MK Dons (A). Should that happen, it would then come down to goal difference to decide who stays up between the two.
Likewise, Sutton require Colchester to pick up just one point or less from their three remaining games if they are to have a chance to surpass Danny Cowley’s side’s current points total. If the U’s lose all three of their games while Sutton pick up four points from their two, it would again come down to goal difference to separate them. Forest Green Rovers have already been relegated to the National League following the results of others in midweek.
Grimsby Town have their destiny in their own hands, and all associated with the club will be hoping they can secure guaranteed safety at the earliest opportunity, so the rebuild can begin in earnest. Nobody more so than head coach David Artell, who is already gearing up for a busy pre-season as he looks to implement his own approach through recruitment and work on the training ground in an attempt to raise the Mariners’ standard.
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