Everyone involved with Grimsby Town was rocked by the tragic news of 16-year-old youth team player Cameron Walsh’s passing along with his father, Dave, 40, last weekend.
Heartfelt tributes for the two have poured in from those living in the local area and the wider football family on social media. It has undeniably been a tough week beyond comprehension for their loved ones and the club as a whole.
Head coach David Artell faced the difficult task of preparing a team of players for a match, knowing their minds would likely be elsewhere or not completely focused on football at this time as they grieved the loss of one of their own.
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Some things happen around football that are more important than the game itself, and this is one of those moments Artell certainly understands that.
The Town boss said to BBC Radio Humberside: “My reaction was the same as everyone else in the building – shock and grief – there were certainly plenty of tears in the first few days of hearing the news, all the way through the club.
“As a head coach, you’ve got to be able to provide support and allow those who need it to ask for help and not be afraid to do so. I daren’t think about what the family is going through, because it’s horrible.
“You don’t expect to lose a child nor a husband or a father so young and it is just heartbreaking, but we’ve got to make sure that we pull together and show how strong our culture is to provide support for whoever may need it.”
(Image: Grimsby Town FC)
Understandably, it has not been easy to prepare his team, staff and players alike, for their next game at home to Notts County on Saturday. Artell hopes the sadness and feeling of loss that is currently felt can pull the club and wider community even closer together as they try to push forward.
He added: “The club have reached out to the family to provide support and I hope the fans understand where we are – it has been a tough few weeks already for various reasons and this news has made it a heartbreaking week for everyone.
“There is no right way to deal with loss, we’ve just got to band together. We as a staff have tried to be as normal as possible, but we get if others have not been in the right frame of mind to think about football.
“It has been a tough environment to coach in but we’ve got to pay our respects in the best way we can and pay tribute to the Walsh family with our performances moving forward, which hopefully they can be proud of as their local football club.”
Original story at https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/
