PAUL Hurst hailed Ollie Palmer as the final piece in Grimsby Town's jigsaw after extending his loan deal until the end of the season.
As revealed on our website – grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport – the 23-year-old will now remain with the Mariners for the entire run-in and, crucially, cannot be recalled by parent club Mansfield.
That means the frontman – who looks set to feature in this afternoon's clash with Telford (3pm) – will also be involved in the play-offs, should Town qualify, and Hurst couldn't be happier.
"I'm delighted to have him," he said. "It's taken a bit of negotiation and a bit of hard work, but we've finally got his signature.
"There can't be a recall because of it running through until the end of the season so we know what we've got now for the run-in and that's a big factor for me.
"Ollie's stay here includes the play-offs as well – that won't be a problem, so it's a big boost to have him on board."
VIDEO: Watch an interview with Ollie Palmer
Hurst confirmed that Palmer's extension completes his business in the transfer window, having brought in Christian Jolley and Gregor Robertson last week.
"I look at it now and you just think 'yeah, we're strong'," he added.
"Last season I thought we had a strong squad, but man-for-man in certain positions, we are now that bit further along.
"I wanted to try and get a settled squad that I'm happy with and know that I'm going to be working with until the end of the season, come what may.
"We hope that Ollie continues in the vein of form that he's been in and ideally get even better still.
"He is a young player and there is still more to come from him in some aspects – hopefully he can keep scoring goals for us.
"That's another piece of the jigsaw in place for us now.
"At the minute, we're on a nice little run and the belief is growing so I wanted to keep that group together – and Ollie is a part of that."
