Anthony Limbrick was pleased to sign off as Grimsby Town interim manager with a 1-0 win over Salford City in Sky Bet League Two at Blundell Park.
Ahkeem Rose’s 83rd-minute goal ended Town’s 11-game winless run in the league as the Mariners claimed all three points in the New Year’s Day clash with Graham Alexander’s side.
And Limbrick – who was taking charge of his final game as interim Town boss, before Ian Holloway takes the reins – was happy to sign off with a positive result.
Speaking on iFollow Mariners, he said: “It was nice to get the win. It was good for everyone associated with the club – all the supporters, the staff, and the players because they’ve worked ever so hard since I’ve been in charge.
“It was great with the announcement yesterday and Ian Holloway coming in as the new manager – it was good for him to see the boys win at home, and I thought there was a real buzz around the place today.
“We’re just pleased to get that win and get one over the line.
“They missed a chance where I think in other weeks they would’ve scored, but I didn’t think we actually played as well as what we had done in previous games.
“Against Cheltenham, Scunthorpe, and Carlisle we played a lot better than we did today but we didn’t get the goals on those occasions.
“We probably didn’t play as well as we could have done today, and we’ve definitely got more potential in this squad to play better.
“But – when you’ve been on the run that we’ve been on – it’s good to just get over the line with a 1-0 win at home.
“And it’s against a Salford side who have been improving, and are right up there, and we have a lot of respect for them.
“I have no doubt that they’ll be up there around the top 10 and pushing for the play-offs so it was really pleasing to beat them because they’ve been on a good run.”
And Limbrick was happy that his in-game changes paid off as substitute Rose got the all-important goal.
He said: “Today we did get the goal, and I was really pleased for Ahkeem to come on and get it, and he did well when he came on.
“We’ve changed to 4-4-2 a couple of weeks in a row, but it didn’t previously work as well as it did today.
“When the player you bring on scores and your changes get those rewards then your tactical substitutions look good.
“But it was just pleasing because every player was having a go – they wanted to impress the new manager today, and rightly so.”
