GRIMSBY Town manager Paul Hurst shares his thoughts after Grimsby Town's 2-0 victory over Nuneaton on Saturday
ON THE PERFORMANCE…
" We were missing some players, but it's a squad game and it's about getting the job done, which we did and I was very pleased to get the three points. Nathan Arnold, for example, was ill on Friday but did what he could for us and that's what you need to do to get results. I have to mention James McKeown – he made a big save at a crucial time for us in the first half. I said to the players at half-time, it doesn't matter if you've looked the better team in the first-half, if they get something to hold on to, your task will become a lot more difficult. But we kept at it and thankfully we got our rewards eventually."
ON THE CURRENT RUN OF FORM…
" I look at our results over thirds of the season, 15 games – the first 15, the middle 15 and the final 15. We've just finished our 'middle 15' and in those games, we've picked up the most points than we have in one of those periods during my time here. We've picked up more than two points a game during that time with four wins out of six. I'm not having it that we're not in form. We lost a couple of games over Christmas, but in the last 15 games, we've been in great form. If we can hit anywhere near that in the final 15, then who knows where that can take us."
ON INJURIES…
" JP (Pittman) had to come off because of a twinge in his hamstring and hopefully it is only that. Lenny (John-Lewis) wasn't involved because he still wasn't feeling great from the whack he took the other night. Scott Brown was feeling his knee in training on Friday so I'm not sure on that one. I don't know how long that will keep him out for. It is a little bit of a concern, he's only feeling the pain in certain movements. The way that he works the ball, he does put a lot of movement through his knees and quads. We've not got an abundance of midfielder's in his mould so it is a concern – it's something that I'll have to be conscious of. Scott Neilson only trained on Friday, having been out for a long time and then had been ill. There's no injury there but he just hasn't trained."
ON ROSS HANNAH…
" Ross has been chomping at the bit and after doing well in midweek, he came on and did another good job for us on Saturday. He got himself a goal-scorer's goal – a Ross Hannah goal – to make the last few minutes comfortable for us."
ON HAMISH WATSON…
" We haven't had any takers for Hamish. We're still speaking to a couple of clubs in New Zealand about his past situation, which may help us to tie him down to a longer deal, which would, in turn, make it easier to get him out on loan. I think he's showing a better understanding than when he first came here. He's someone that has got potential. But we haven't got that development squad that Hamish could be part of if we were higher up the pyramid."
ON THE FANS…
" I was always confident that we'd get another good following on Saturday. Nuneaton's not local, but it's certainly not an Eastleigh or a Dover either. However, we appreciate the effort and cost that it takes to make the trip – especially on the back of the Gateshead game. They sang from start to finish on Saturday and I really thank them for their support."
