David Artell described the next few months for Grimsby Town as a “journey” that will feature a mixture of ups and downs but one he hopes the players and supporters are committed to.
The 43-year-old has not had long to get to grips with the task at hand with games coming quickly after his appointment was confirmed at the start of the week, but he has made some good first impressions.
The team looked like a better version of themselves in the midweek draw with MK Dons, as the players seemed to take on the new information they had been given quickly, and they had into tough assignments with little time to think about anything.
READ MORE: Grimsby Town boss David Artell hails ‘terrific start’ to new era
“I had no expectations [going into the MK Dons game],” said Artell. “I showed some things to the team in the one hour I had with them and you hope that they understand it and take it on board, which they did.
“That’s really pleasing, but now we’ve got to make sure that we give them more and more so that the standards are constantly raised. They’re all starting from different positions with different skills and different qualities and it is my job to assess who needs what and at what time.
“After a couple of short sessions, we’ll have another tough game against a team third in League One which is another tough ask so it is not going to be revolutionary overnight, it can’t be.”
As has been stressed many times already, patience will be required in order to see things through properly and make sure the team is on the right track.
In the short term, wins are needed, but there will be bumps in the road from time to time, the Town faithful can sit relatively comfortably knowing their new man in the dugout is up for the challenge.
He added: “It’s going to take months for this sort of stuff but I hope the fans will see a different Grimsby very soon and the seeds of a new identity. It’s going to be rocky, and things aren’t going to go well every week, that is just where we’re at.
“It’s a journey and I hope that they understand that I’m going to take them on a journey. Sometimes I might say after a game that ‘I’m not sure what they were doing’ but I’ll take that on the chin and say it is my fault.”
Original story at https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/
