"I HEARD that's the best Luton played all season – if they can't beat us with the team we put out, then I'll take that."
Those were the words of Grimsby Town joint boss Paul Hurst after watching his much-changed side battle to a 1-1 draw last night.
After making a host of changes to the squad that beat Dartford in midweek, the Mariners went ahead through Dayle Southwell's 54th-minute goal before being pegged back by Alex Lawless' equaliser, 14 minutes from time.
And, considering the changes he and Rob Scott had made to their side, Hurst was satisfied with the result and performance in Bedfordshire.
He said: "There were obviously a lot of changes but it was about wanting to give players minutes.
"The lads that came in did well so we're really happy and we need those kind of performances in the next few games.
"It's not very often you'll hear us say it, but we were more interested in the performance than the result last night – we're looking at players because there are going to be places up for grabs when we name the team for the play-off games.
In Pictures: Luton Town 1 Grimsby Town 1
"Some of that will come down to form, so players have the opportunity to stake a claim. Last night also gave us the opportunity to rest players who needed it and the lads that came in did well.
"I heard after the game that it was apparently Luton's best performance by far this season. If that is the case, and they can't beat us after we've made some changes then I'll take that.
"It shows the depth of the squad – we were missing Marcus Marshall who was ill, Jamie Devitt, whose partner, I believe has now given birth to their baby, and Joe Colbeck, who is suspended. So that's three players who weren't available to us straight away.
"It showed why we need a strong squad like we have and hopefully it will pay dividends."
Hurst continued: "Particularly after half time, we took hold of the game. Andi (Thanoj) hit the crossbar, and although it looked in from where we were stood we were told it wasn't so that's a good decision.
"But then we went on and got the goal through Dayle (Southwell) and had another few chances to put the game to bed, but I thought there were a lot of positives to come out of it."
