SHAUN Pearson believes Grimsby Town have often wasted opportunities to stamp their authority on the Conference in the past – and he wants to put that right tomorrow.
The Mariners go into tomorrow's meeting with Barnet on the back of three consecutive league victories and are currently unbeaten in six games in all competitions.
The 24-year-old, who keeps a close eye on all of Town's facts and stats, is understandably proud of that record.
But in order for the other clubs in the Conference to really start to fear them, he knows the Mariners need to extend that run even longer.
"Another good result tomorrow would be big for us," he told the Telegraph:
"We're three unbeaten in the league at the minute and if you start extending that to four, five and six games, then that's when teams really start to fear you.
"We've got two home games in the league back to back and that presents a good opportunity to stamp our authority.
"We've been in those positions before and not taken full advantage, so it's crucial that we do that tomorrow."
The centre-half made his 100th appearance for the Mariners in Tuesday's night's superb 2-1 victory over local rivals Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup.
That result, Pearson says, has further added to the buzz and the growing belief in the Mariners squad at present, as the often-crucial Christmas period approaches.
He continued: "It was a phenomenal night at Scunthorpe and in training this week, you could definitely feel the buzz within the camp at the minute.
"We're becoming more and more together and people are starting to see the fruition of the work that we put in over pre-season.
"It didn't always click for us straight away, but as a squad, we didn't hit the panic button early on.
"We stuck at it and now the players are coming together at the right time and we're reaping the rewards.
"We're on a decent run and if we can carry that on and through the Christmas period, we'll be in good shape.
"If we're in touching distance at the turn of the year, that will give us a real opportunity and hopefully we'll be the ones to push on and really challenge.
"Last year was a pretty open league and you never really saw Mansfield coming until late on.
"Obviously this time around, Cambridge have opened up a bit of a gap and it's only a result in it.
"Hopefully we can reel them in and be challenging for that top spot as soon as possible because that's where we want to be."
Four seasons ago, Pearson was playing part-time football for Boston United in the Conference North.
Now one of Town's more established players – and someone who is fast becoming a cult hero among fans – tomorrow could see him lining up alongside a former Champions League winner.
Barnet's player/coach Edgar Davids is someone that Pearson always admired as a youngster and if the controversial Dutchman picks himself tomorrow, the pair could be sharing a pitch at Blundell Park.
"It would be absolutely crazy if that happened," he added.
"Provided he's there, it would be nice to say you've played against one of his teams – or if he picks himself – even against him!
"I remember watching him play for some of the biggest teams in Europe and he was a top, top player in his day and I'm sure he still possesses some of those qualities.
"But aside from all of that, we're there to do a job tomorrow – Edgar Davids or not.
"As I say, we're on a good run and we'll be looking to keep that up.
"They're not on a bad run themselves so it should be a decent game – hopefully we'll manage to come out on top."
In bidding to keep the Mariners' impressive unbeaten run going against the Bees, Pearson will also be looking to maintain the Mariners' defensive record.
Much attention has focused on Town's 'goals against' column this season, given that they were the league's most miserly defence last campaign.
But despite the back four undergoing something of an overhaul in the close-season, Pearson believes he and his colleagues are shaping up well.
He added: "A lot was made of our defensive record this season after what we achieved last time around but, if you look at it, we've actually got the second-best in the league behind Cambridge – who have a phenomenal record.
"We're getting there and we've only really had the one bashing and that was at Halifax.
"But we know we can still improve and if we can keep racking up those clean sheets then we'll get close to last season's figures.
"Let's hope we can add another tomorrow."
