EXTRA QUALITY NEEDED IN THE FINAL THIRD
ARTELL SPELLS OUT TOP PRIORITY FOR TOWN’S RECRUITMENT
REGAINING control is the key message for David Artell at Grimsby Town as he looks to build a team capable of dictating how games unfold next season.
All successful teams need some luck to go their way in a long campaign, but the very best create their own luck by being the team that sets the tone from the start and establishes a way of playing that cannot be easily counteracted. For a long time, Grimsby as a team have done their best work off the ball, with high turnovers being the key to success ahead of a solid defensive structure.
This is what Artell reverted to from February onwards when times were getting tough, but it is not going to allow the club to take the next step. He said: “It got worse before it got better, but the critical thing was that we had to change – the team was built on being hard to beat. [Paul Hurst] had built an out-of-possession team and it is much more difficult to be successful that way. “You’re not in control of things, and you’re allowing the opposition to dictate how the game is played, so that is what we’ve got to change over the summer.
“Not to the extent that we did when I first came in, but we’ve got to be much better in possession. “We should’ve scored a lot more than we did at the back end of the season, so we’ve got to become more efficient, and that lends itself to both ends of the pitch.
“The players deserve credit for understanding their roles in the end, but we want to make the change now.
“It’s easier to set up a team not to get beat than one that you want to go out and try to win the game, but you can’t rely on doing the former for a whole season and expect success.” Grimsby’s survival this season came down to basic intangibles as the team dug in and maintained a level of solidity that kept them in most games until the end, which is something that they want to keep moving forward.
Quality added to a clear game plan will make next season better than the last – and it is as simple as that for Artell.
“There were lots of learning points both personally and as a team [from the season],” he said. “The biggest thing was who was going to stand up and be counted, and there were plenty that did. We can’t be in the same position we were this season again – we undoubtedly improved as a team in the last few months because we became much harder to beat but we need quality in the final third to really drum home what we’re doing.”