WE’VE GOT RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB
STOCKWOOD BACKS ARTELL
JASON Stockwood said that the moments of adversity David Artell has endured so far during his time at Grimsby Town have all reinforced his belief that he is the right person to lead the team.
Artell made promises when he first arrived at the club back in November last year that he was not able to deliver straight away. However, his ability to adapt to the situation in front of him won him some plaudits as the season progressed amongst the fans.
A new season brings a clean slate but also heightened pressure on the head coach to deliver a brand of football that Town fans are excited to watch, while also picking up more points, and the club certainly believe they have the right man in charge. By all accounts, Artell has fully engaged with the owners’ plan for the club moving forward, and they believe that is the key to improving on what was seen previously. Stockwood sees in Grimsby’s head coach a man who will take the rough with the smooth as well as anyone – and that has lifted his confidence in him.
“David is a great technical coach,” said the Mariners chairman. “He’s a teacher – he wants to improve players all the time, and he is very cerebral in his thinking, which we like.
“He doesn’t get all his knowledge from just looking at football, which we think is very important as well in order to try and get an edge on others.
“Above all that, he is a decent person, and we like working with him.
“As we look back on our long careers, we learn more about ourselves in adversity than we do in the good times. “The conversations we had after the Doncaster defeat were data-led, but we were trying to get to the bottom of what was going wrong and how we were going to fix it.
“It then takes a really strong leader in that scenario to respond nonemotionally and change like he [Artell] did.
“There’s a long way to go in terms of improving this club, but that was a real sign of humility and a sign that he listens. It’s cause for optimism that we’ve got those kinds of characters at the club, not just in David but in all of the coaching and support staff around him.”