David Artell has been pleased with the instant buy-in he has seen from the Grimsby Town players, but still encouraged patience from the outside as he continues to implement new ideas.
The 43-year-old has overseen a solid start to life as Mariners head coach, with four points taken from his first two league outings and some encouraging collective and individual performances mixed in with those results.
The vocal part of the fanbase has been pleased with what they have seen so far from the Artell era and will hope for some consistency now, which the team have been lacking this season, as Town look to get their first away win of the campaign this Saturday at Newport County.
The new boss has heard some of his players publicly talk up the work that has been done so far during his short reign, and that is encouraging for Artell, who knows that some of the more challenging lessons are still to come for the group.
“A couple of the players have said that they’re buying into what we’re asking them to do and that is a large early battle as a coach,” said Artell.
“The fact that they believe that this is truly good for them helps when you get results early because it corroborates what you’re trying to do. I’m more than happy with where we’re at in terms of the initial uptake.
“It’s a bit like low-hanging fruit – this is going to be the most dramatic change, and I don’t expect it to continue this way for the next six weeks or months. I hope it is, but I doubt it will be because some things will take a lot longer to instil in the team.
“The players will have to genuinely learn some new things as opposed to just changing their mindsets or their style of play. It is pleasing and helpful that we’re getting that buy in – hopefully that can continue and the players pick up more and more moving forward.”
Grimsby have welcomed the new man in the dugout with open arms, hoping he will lead a revolution of the team’s predominant play style amongst other things, and the early signs are encouraging.
That man was thankful for the support he has received so far, which has made what has been a new experience for him easier than he first expected.
“It’s been great,” added Artell. “The people that work here and the fans, I haven’t met anyone that hasn’t welcomed me to the football club, not just with their words, but with their actions.
“It has been a fairly smooth transition into a new role and this the first time I have done this in terms of going into a new football club as a head coach. However many more times I have to do this in my career, I hope it is as easy as it has been here.”
Original story at https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/