AFTER a high-octane week for Grimsby Town, boss Paul Hurst believes the opportunity to rest will do his squad the power of good.
The Mariners overcame Edgar Davids' Barnet 2-1 on Saturday – just four days after putting Scunthorpe United out of the FA Cup.
Following that rollercoaster period, Hurst is pleased not to have a midweek game on the horizon.
The boss was delighted with his side's well-deserved victory over the Bees. Goals from Ross Hannah and second-half sub Liam Hearn were enough for the Mariners – despite Dave Stephens' spectacular late strike.
The performance has earned the players a deserved day off today – and meant they began their free week on a high, ahead of Saturday's FA Trophy tie against Coalville.
And Hurst is pleased his squad has the opportunity for some R&R.
"For once, I am quite happy that there isn't a midweek game," he told the Telegraph.
"If there was, the lads would turn up and do a job – of course they would, but this week gives us the opportunity to recover, albeit while preparing for Coalville.
"But it does give us that little bit of downtime to recover, both physically and mentally after the busy period we've come through.
"We've had a tough run in terms of the effort that we've had to put into games recently and I'd be the first to hold my hands up and admit that was a concern going into the Barnet game, but they were excellent.
"And so they're having today off because they've earned that. They need to rest up now because it's been a really big effort from them and I couldn't be happier with them."
Saturday's victory was Town's fourth on the trot in the Conference, as they retained fourth place in the table with their closest rivals also recording wins.
Hurst added: "Ever since the Salisbury defeat, we've been superb and credit to them. We've had a lot of wins, in the cup and the league, and confidence is growing all the time, which is great to see."
