Blooming Rose puts team first ‘WE JUST HAVE TO GET OVER THE LINE’
DANNY Rose has insisted keeping Grimsby Town in the EFL will trump any remaining personal accomplishments this season.
The 30-year-old striker went into this weekend on 15 goals in all competitions – just two short of his best career haul of 17 with Mansfield six years ago.
Having joined the Mariners last summer after making 43 appearances during Stevenage’s promotion-winning campaign, he has been one of the more reliable performers during a difficult season at Blundell Park but is not seeking any individual plaudits.
“I’ve never had 20 goals in a season so reaching 15 was a nice milestone,” Rose admitted. “I got 17 once for Mansfield so that would be the one I’d be looking to top and I might have got there by now if I hadn’t missed a couple of games through injury.
“There’s still time to get 17 or 18 and that would be nice so I’ll try to keep chipping in as much as I can, but we’re at a point in the season where it doesn’t matter who scores as long as we get the points we need to get away from the position we’re in.
“It’s not about personal achievements now - it’s about getting over the line because this is a massive club that’s way too good to be in the National League, so we just want to do it for the fans and ourselves because nobody wants a relegation on their CV, especially from League Two.”
Return
Fourth-bottom Town have also had an “awful” time off the pitch this term, with the tragic January death of youthteam player Cameron Walsh after the car he was travelling in crashed into a canal followed a week later by the announcement that midfielder Callum Ainley had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
A welcome fillip has been provided, though, by Ainley’s return to the bench this month following surgery with skipper Rose telling The FLP: “Off the pitch, it’s been a tough season. Some awful stuff has happened, including Cal’s illness.
“He’s a great lad and we love him to bits, so it’s brilliant to see him on the mend. Just before his illness, I felt he was starting to show what he’s about.
“I’d played against him at Crewe and he was their main man. He’s a great player, so I hope he can get a few more minutes before the end of the season and I’m sure the fans would like to see that, too.
“His diagnosis was a really sad time and a massive shock to all of us. We weren’t sure how long he would need and just wanted to give him as long as possible to recover, but he’s a fighter and he’s come back.”
Manager David Artell has also endured some challenging moments since his arrival in north east Lincolnshire in November.
There have been some positive signs – the club have scored in 16 consecutive home games representing their longest sequence since 1980 – but indifferent results saw Artell dispense a little with the footballing ethos that earned him a League Two promotion with Crewe.
“He has an identity that he wants to play out from the back but, when we got beat by Doncaster 5-1, words were said in the changing room about needing to just get over the line this season,” Rose revealed. “Before that, he had got us playing brilliantly going forward – we were just conceding really bad goals.
“Being 22nd in the league, we needed to recognise where we were and focus on being solid. But I’m sure he’ll implement his ideas next season, because he’s a firm believer in playing football the right way.”