GRIMSBY Town have the chance to put things right against Nuneaton this afternoon (3pm) – and settle a few old scores in the process.
The Mariners are yet to beat Boro in their two previous fixtures and their performance when the two sides last met still sticks in the throat of joint boss Paul Hurst.
After being held to a disappointing draw by Boro in only the third game of last season, Town then slumped to what Hurst recalls as an 'abysmal' 1-0 defeat in the return fixture in March.
The boss admits that the performance – which came in the run up to Town's FA Trophy final appearance against Wrexham – still grates with him.
But his side can go some way to laying those ghosts to rest when Kevin Wilkin's men visit Blundell Park this afternoon.
A victory over Boro would be a first for both the Mariners and their joint bosses – who are also yet to taste victory against the Warwickshire club.
It would also be Town's third win in a row – something which they have not done since last December – and bring Boro's impressive
unbeaten run to a shuddering halt.
And speaking to the Telegraph, Hurst admits the chance to send those records tumbling is something that excites him.
But he insists his side's sole focus is on producing a winning performance to help continue their climb up the Conference.
"I quite like it when there's an opportunity to end a team's good run, break a record or turn something historic around," he said.
"We as a team, and as managers, have never beaten Nuneaton – albeit in relatively few games.
"It's something that we'd like to put right today, but more importantly it's about keeping the team on a good run.
"We would love to make it three wins a row because it hasn't happened for a while."
When asked about Town's performance last time out against Nuneaton, Hurst replied: "It still grates on me to be honest.
"There's no doubt that some players let themselves down that night.
"In that game, we didn't play at the level that we were used to and I found it hard to understand some of the performances that we got that night.
"That might get a little mention before we send them out this afternoon, but we are concentrating on the here and now and what we can do this season.
"We want to show the Nuneaton players – because a lot of them are the same as last season – what we're really capable of today."
On Boro's impressive start to the season, Hurst added: "Credit to them, they've done well and confidence will be high in their camp.
"I'm sure they'll draw on both times that we played them last season in that we weren't able to beat them.
"We'll give them the respect they deserve because we know what to expect.
"We'll need to play better than we did against Hyde and get back to the kind of performance that we had against Alfreton last week.
"We're at home and the onus is on us to take the game to them."
