THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
HURST AND DOIG KICK-OFF NEW ERA WITH GTFC TODAY
GRIMSBY Town manager Paul Hurst is hoping for a “pleasant surprise” from his players as he takes charge of his first game back at Blundell Park. The returning Mariners boss is back in the dugout today as he leads his side against Cambridge United, with Town in need of a change in fortunes on the pitch.
They lie just three points above the relegation zone in League Two, having won just one of their last nine games, while other sides at the foot of the table have begun picking up points.
And while Hurst is looking forward to his return to management, there is one key ingredient missing. “The only thing I temper it with is the fans aren’t there, and things are going to be different down there. “I’m looking forward to being on the touchline and getting that adrenaline going and that competition. You miss the day to day of the camaraderie and the spirit you hopefully create and the relationships you build.
“Then game day, it’s competition, and that’s something when you’re sat at home watching the games and you’re a neutral, it’s very easy to pick out the good things and the bad things, and that’s what you have to try and do as manager, but you’ve got a lot more feeling towards it. “I’m pretty sure that’s how I’ll feel on Saturday, and I’m just keen to see how the players do.
“I want to see if we’ll get any pleasant surprises, or maybe one or two go the other way. Hopefully not, but it’s learning on the job. “Games are settling down, so I’m going to have longer to work with the players which is important.” Hurst added: “I think a lot of the teams down there have started picking up results, and I’m hoping that we can in time.
“I’ve watched a lot in the last two months, for one reason or another I’ve watched the teams at the wrong end of League Two, and in some teams I see strengths and obvious ways they’re going to progress, and in one or two others I think it’ll be more difficult.
“I do believe that January will be a really, really important time for ourselves, and I would imagine other clubs will be looking at it similarly. “What I do look at with one or two of our rivals is they probably have more settled squads, and that’s something we’ve got to try and establish with a bit more of a core group that’s going to take us forward.”