We’ve had to adjust to get better results
ARTELL ON HIS PRAGMATIC APPROACH
A FEW different perspectives have been offered on the formation change that has seen Grimsby Town improve in some areas but continue to struggle in others. Overall, it has been a positive change for the Mariners, who have become more solid defensively with a structure where each player’s role off the ball is clearly defined and the understanding between players has been built over time. For David Artell, the more important change has been the mentality of the team as opposed to any style or tactical change, but the current formation has brought certain things that were needed for the team to be competitive.
The Grimsby boss said: “The formation change was more through necessity at first because of the personnel we had available. Have we become more pragmatic? Yes and no.
“What I mean by that is, that when you play with three centrebacks, you should have more control of the ball, but that has not necessarily been the case. “Is that because of the formation? In some ways, yes, because it is new to the players and they are trying to find their feet in terms of what they do in possession.
“We need to get more results, so we have to be a touch more pragmatic, but that won’t always be the answer.
“We’ve got to have both sides of the game, and that doesn’t come from formations, it comes from style and how you do things. “We have to keep working on that while keeping that added resilience in our game.”
It has been a team effort to get to this stage where there is a foundation from which to build for the rest of the campaign and beyond. There are still clear improvements to be made in terms of how the team plays, especially on the ball as Artell referred to, but some of these aspects are not a quick fix. There is an understanding from the players that there is progress still to be made, but a lot of that is unlikely to come this season with the main focus being just to pick up as many points as possible.