SHAUN Pearson says Grimsby Town must "fight and fight and fight" to re-ignite their promotion charge in the New Year after a dismal start to 2015.
The defender was one of few to emerge with any credit from the New Year's Day defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls Macclesfield Town.
That loss – coupled with the 3-1 derby defeat to Lincoln City – has done little to lift the mood around Blundell Park as Paul Hurst's side ushered in 2015 in stuttering fashion.
As one of many who has hailed the current Mariners' squad as the strongest for years, Pearson admits that, taken in isolation, the last two results have made that appraisal 'look stupid', but insists his confidence is unwavering.
He told the Telegraph: "I believe in this squad completely and I've no doubt, when everyone is fit and available, we're a match for anybody in this league, but the last two games have been tough to take, there's no doubt about it.
"I've said all along that this is the best squad we've had here in years and it is frustrating because you make yourself look stupid when we're not winning games.
"Before the Macclesfield game, we said that good teams don't lose two games on the trot – they bounce back – and obviously we didn't do that – but that doesn't change what we've got in the group."
Defeat to the Silkmen was Town's seventh in the league this season and their fifth at home so far this season, leaving them 15 points off leaders Barnet.
"We need to get our form sorted – of course we all know that," the 25-year-old, right, continued.
"We were doing well and won a few on the spin, but the last couple of games have killed us a bit.
"It's massively disappointing because we've had two home defeats on the trot now when, realistically, with the way other results have gone, we could have gone some way to securing a play-off place.
"We've left ourselves having to fight and fight and fight now, but we're still in a good position and the season is far from over yet.
"Barnet have opened up a gap at the top and although I'm not going to say it's too big, it's going to take a lot to claw that back – but we won't give up."
