MARINERS NEED TO PUMP UP VOLUME
BOSS Paul Hurst reckons Grimsby Town need to turn up the volume when the chips are down to get over a recent downturn in form.
The Mariners led the National League by four points after beating Yeovil Town on October 23 but five defeats in six, including a shock FA Cup exit at Kidderminster Harriers, saw them drop to third with yesterday’s clash with Boreham Wood falling victim to structural damage at Blundell Park, caused by Storm Arwen.
Threadbare Solihull Moors defied defensive absences to trump Town 2-0 on Tuesday night and with Dagenham & Redbridge, Chesterfield and FC Halifax Town coming up in December, Hurst said he would “learn a lot about his players” in the next few weeks.
Asked whether faith was the only factor in Grimsby’s dip, Hurst told The NLP: “There are a couple of other things that I won’t go into because the last thing I want to do is offer up excuses.
“Sometimes there are genuine reasons but overall, we have some young players whose performances naturally go up and down.
“On the mental side, the demands of the league, playing Saturday and Tuesday a lot against different opponents and tactics, we do need to have belief.
“I would have liked to see more of that [at Solihull] but we really didn’t commit.
“It has been a long time since I played but I know what my character was and still is as a manager, a never-say-die attitude with a want to prove people wrong but I have to accept that not everyone is the same. I have to try to find the best way to get things out of them but as a group, we have to understand how games can go and what to do when that happens.
“It (Solihull) is a relatively open ground and I would have liked to hear more voices, more encouragement on the pitch to team-mates and not just from the same one or two people.
“You can often tell who is winning without seeing the scoreboard just by listening. Maybe that gets a bit lost at home with the crowd and atmosphere but I would like a bit more of that.”
Another unwelcome matter for Hurst to handle is the drink-drive conviction handed to defender Ryan Sears.
Sears, 22, pleaded guilty to being almost three times over the limit having been pulled over in Cleethorpes at 4am on October 24. He was banned from driving for two years and handed 120 hours of community service.
Hurst said: “We do not condone that type of behaviour but it will be dealt with internally. He has had his punishment and other than that, the club will be making no further comment.”