PAUL Hurst believes his Grimsby Town side has the potential to be even better in the New Year as they prepare to enter the second half of their season.
Last night's game against Wrexham was Town's 23rd this season, meaning that the Mariners are exactly half-way through their Blue Square Bet Premier campaign.
It's been a solid start to the season that has seen the Mariners reach the top spots and establish themselves as genuine promotion contenders.
The Town joint boss said: "The lads have done very well so far but, as it stands, we're only halfway and there is a hell of a long way to go.
"We are in a good place at the minute and the players all recognise that.
"We spoke earlier in the season about trying to get that swagger about us, not arrogance, but inner confidence and self-belief and we really feel that we're starting to get that.
"Looking back to last year, we have definitely moved on from where we were and that's a credit to the players.
"The players know how we work and we've got that mentality into the players.
"At times, even when they've won a game, they're not completely happy if they haven't performed to the levels that they feel they should, and that's pleasing to us."
Despite the start to the season, Hurst knows that his squad have achieved nothing yet and has challenged his side to realise their potential in 2013.
He added: "Even with where we are in the league, we still feel that we could have had more points on the board at the half-way point as we've had some good performances.
"We've got to maintain standards and keep striving to be better in the second half of the season – we certainly still feel we can improve both as a club and as a squad.
"We're right in the mix and it's been a good first half to the season but we're only halfway there."
