PAUL Hurst will be the man to lead Grimsby Town's bid for Conference glory next season.
That's after the boss met with club directors at Blundell Park yesterday to discuss plans for the future – and the Mariners' fifth crack at promotion to the Football League.
Speaking to the Telegraph, John Fenty described those talks – which stretched late into the afternoon – as 'extremely positive' and centred solely around building on the successes of Hurst's tenure so far.
"We had a good chat about what worked and what didn't worked last season," he explained.
"Together, we looked at things we might look to do differently in order to build on what has been, in truth, a couple of good seasons.
"Paul has got his ideas about how he wants to strengthen the squad this summer and which members of the current squad he wants to retain.
"He is having discussions with the players as we speak and the outcome of those will be announced very soon.
"He was very positive in the meeting and why shouldn't he be? We've got everything to look forward to.
"We've got some very good players to retain and the ability to bolster the squad for next season."
He stressed: "We've been talking only about the future, looking to next season and planning on how to improve what have been two good seasons.
"We've got a manager here who has taken us to the play-offs in successive seasons and the objective of yesterday's meeting was to see how we can go one step further.
"It was an extremely positive discussion – as it needed to be, because we've got to pick everyone up and demonstrate that we've got the ability to go again next season. You have to believe that you can improve on your past – that's what we're looking to do.
"People mustn't lose sight of what we've done in the last two seasons.
"Yes, we faltered at the end for one reason or another, but we need to find a solution – that's all that we're interested in working towards."
