Newport County manager Graham Coughlan admitted that he is “delighted” to see an old friend, David Artell, back in work with Grimsby Town as the pair prepare to face off this Saturday.
Artell and Coughlan did their UEFA Pro Licence courses together and sparked a friendship, but that goes out the window this weekend as they face off in opposite dugouts.
The Mariners are looking for their first away win of the season, with just five points from a possible 30 taken on the road so far this term. They almost did enough to win away at MK Dons in Artell’s first game in charge but had to settle for a draw, and Newport are in their way now.
READ MORE: Artell happy Grimsby Town players are ‘buying into what we’re asking them to do’
Coughlan has seen the progress from Town under Artell already as many have done, and with that in mind, he expects a tough game even if Grimsby’s current away record suggests otherwise.
The Newport boss said: “I know Dave well, he’s a good lad and I’m delighted he has got back into a management job, but as far as Saturday afternoon, there won’t be any hugging or kissing because it’s football.
“You go to war when the game kicks off at three o’clock and it will certainly be our intention to battle for the victory. They’ve been doing well since [Artell] has come in, I suppose there has been a new manager bounce of sorts.
“They did well against Crewe and MK Dons. He’s altered the play style a little bit and the system so it will be an interesting battle, they’ll be more possession-based, moving the ball around the pitch and through the thirds quickly.
“He likes to play 4-3-3 if I recall correctly from his time at Crewe, the wingers are more inside forwards in that system, so they’ll have two on either side of Danny Rose who is dangerous. It’ll be a really tough encounter again after two hard games for us this week, so as a manager, you’re always wary going into the third game [in a week], as it is often a call to freshen things up.”
Town have led in five of their ten away league fixtures this term but have not managed to see any of them through to victory so far, and that is another thing Artell must change, whether the issue was mentality or tactics.
No away game is easy though, and this will be no different with it being one of the longest trips Town will make this term to face a formidable opponent, managed by someone Artell knows well.
“[Coughlan has] made [Newport] hard to beat,” added Artell. “They’re going to be up and at us, try to run all over us because that is Graham’s management style. They’ll be in our faces and won’t give us a minute’s peace.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re up for that challenge in matching their physicality and our abilities as a team need to shine through and be better than what they can offer because that is how you win football matches.”
Original story at https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/
