PAUL Hurst may have admired Edgar Davids as a player, but insists he won't be fazed if he comes up against the Dutch master tomorrow (3pm).
Davids' Barnet side are the visitors to Blundell Park tomorrow, but there are still some question marks over whether the Bees player/manager will actually be in the dugout.
Earlier in the season, the flamboyant Dutchman decided not to travel to some of the North London's outfit's away games, refusing to explain his string of absences.
However, of late, the former Ajax, Barcelona and Juventus star has been a more regular fixture in the Conference – pulling the strings in the heart of Barnet's midfield.
But Hurst insists that if Davids does decide to take the long trip north to Blundell Park, he will receive the same treatment as any other of his other Conference contemporaries.
"There's obviously been a bit written about him not travelling to a couple of games and whether he decides to come up to Grimsby tomorrow, we'll have to wait and see," he told the Telegraph.
"He actually played for them last week back in his more familiar role in midfield but he's also played up front and at centre-back. I've got my preferred area that I'd like him to play in if he does come up.
"He's someone that I certainly admired a lot as a player.
"But if he is here tomorrow, I'll shake his hand and wish him all the best as I do every manager and it's about trying to get the better of him.
"It's about keeping our minds on the job, he added.
"If having a name like him in the league raises the Conference's profile then great, but we're now on an even playing field – he's a Conference manager just like me and Steve Burr and Neil Aspin and all the rest of us.
"It's not about holding anyone in any higher esteem than the rest.
"Credit to him for taking a job at our level and not just taking a cosy coaching job at a much higher level – he's obviously willing to learn his trade.
"But it's no different to any other game on Saturday, it's about turning up and trying to take another three points – regardless of who is in the other dugout."
