PAUL Hurst looked ahead to today's FA Trophy draw and insisted: "Let's keeping fighting on three fronts."
Grimsby Town will find out their third round opponents this morning following Saturday's 2-1 victory at Barnet.
Some fans may question the value of the competition – especially with the Mariners chasing promotion and still in the FA Cup – but the Town boss is having none of it.
"I was delighted to get through and we're a step closer to going back to Wembley, which is something I'd love to do," Hurst said.
"The FA Cup brings greater rewards and the league is the greater priority, so in a lot of ways it is the least important competition.
"But, at the same time, I'm not comfortable going anywhere and being happy to lose a game.
"It's nice that we haven't gone out of these competitions with a whimper.
"We got through again on Saturday and will look to see what the draw brings – we certainly enjoyed the ride last season."
Hurst admits that continued involvement in the two cup competitions could test his small squad later in the campaign.
But while Liam Hearn remains the only injury victim, the boss is confident they can cope.
"If we keep the squad fit then it's not too bad," he added.
"If we pick up a few injuries and it's suddenly asking the same lads to go out on the pitch week-in week-out, that would probably become too much of an ask.
"But while we're picking up a bit of prize money along the way (£6,000 for Saturday) and getting the gate receipts, that could perhaps help me get another player or two on loan to bolster the squad and see us through.
"That's something I'll look at as we progress into January."
Commenting on the threat of fixture congestion, Hurst continued: "There were no guarantees that we would have a league game on January 11 anyway because we were due to play Barnet in the league, so that game was definitely off whoever got through.
"So it doesn't change too much – and if we can, let's keep fighting on three fronts."
Find out Town's FA Trophy Third Round opponents this morning: grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport
