‘Ruthless’ - Grimsby Town boss David Artell reacts to 10-match unbeaten run ahead of Wolves clash
Wolves travel to Cleethorpes to take on League Two promotion hopefuls Grimsby Town in the FA Cup
Grimsby Town boss David Artell has urged his team to show greater ruthlessness in front of goal ahead of his side’s FA Cup match with Wolves.
The Old Gold are hot favourites to claim their first away victory of the season against a Mariners side that currently sit in eighth position in the League Two table.
However, unlike their last opponents in the competition Shrewsbury Town, who are fearing relegation again this term, Grimsby are a team high on confidence as they are among the contenders for a play-off spot, with just a point separating them from seventh place Walsall in the league standings.
The Cleethorpes-based outfit are unbeaten in 10 matches across all competitions and haven’t lost a match since before Christmas.
They have strong aspirations of reaching the third tier for the first time since 2004, but are also targeting another cup run after pulling off a fair few scalps in the League Cup earlier in the season.
Grimsby Town boss wants his side to be ‘ruthless’
Grimsby were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw against Newport County last weekend despite creating a series of opportunities to score.
They failed to capitalise on those chances and almost allowed the game to slip away from them when Newport failed to score in the final stages.
“We’re relieved in the end,” admitted Artell. “We should’ve been out of sight by the end of the first half, but after the break, we didn’t keep the ball well enough and kept getting transitioned on.”
He added, via Grimsby Telegraph: “We have to be more ruthless and more consistent over 90 minutes. In the first half, we were very good; in the second half, we were not terrible but below our standards. It could’ve been worse, but it also could’ve been much better.”
Grimsby have since returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Accrington Stanley in midweek.
What can Wolves expect from Grimsby?
Wolves have Premier League-proven players, and should on paper have a team more than capable of breezing into the fifth round of the competition as they try to give their fans something to smile about after a miserable league season. However, it’s worth noting that Grimsby have already beaten teams from the first and second-tier of English football this season.
Artell’s men notably defeated Manchester United in August, in what was one of the shock matches of the season. They scored two quickfire goals against the Red Devils in the first half before a late fightback forced the game to penalties.
Grimsby won 12-11 in that particular shoot-out before travelling to Sheffield Wednesday and securing a narrow 1-0 win at Hillsborough Stadium.
They were eventually eliminated in a 5-0 home loss to Brentford, in a performance from the Bees that Rob Edwards’ side will hope to try and replicate.