David Artell believes the Mariners fully deserved their opening-day victory over Exeter City, praising the character shown by his side to secure a clean sheet and all three points at Blundell Park.
Harvey Rodgers’ first-half header proved enough to secure a 1-0 victory, with Town creating further opportunities to extend their advantage before holding firm against a late Exeter push.
Here’s everything the Head Coach had to say after Saturday’s win…
On a deserved victory
Artell was pleased with the manner of Town’s performance and felt the final scoreline could have been more emphatic.
“I thought it was deserved,” he said.
“If they’d scored the equaliser at the end, it would have been unjust. If anything, it should have been more than one.
“That’s not a bad thing to be working on – to try and win by more goals than just one.
“I thought it was fantastic character. There were some tired bodies out there. First game, hot – they’re always a bit chaotic, the first games.
“I thought the lads showed outstanding character to keep a clean sheet and, yeah, I thought it was deserved. Definitely deserved.”
On Harvey Rodgers’ goalscoring form
Rodgers followed up his goal against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup with a decisive finish, and Artell believes the defender’s attacking contribution is becoming an increasingly important part of his game.
“It’s 2 goals in a week,” he said. “It doesn’t surprise me.
“I’ve tasked him with scoring more goals and getting more assists and being more creative because there’s no doubt he can do the defensive side and keep wingers quiet.
“He’s outstandingly good, so I’m delighted he’s with us and he’s been the difference again.
“But it wasn’t just that. I thought we played well and, I’d say, we deserved the win.
“When you deserve the win, you don’t always get them. We saw that last year in that little spell, but we managed to get over the line.
“It’s the first three points.”
On the new arrivals
Artell was also pleased with the contributions of Town’s new additions, with Cian Doyle starting his first game for the Club and Iwan Morgan making an impact from the bench.
“I thought Cian was very good. Very good,” he said.
“It’s difficult coming in like that, but I thought he was very good.
“You can see Iwan – he can sniff out a goal, can’t he? He can see it. He hasn’t taken a couple of chances, but he’s there, Johnny-on-the-spot. That’ll come.
“He hasn’t started today and he hasn’t played enough minutes in pre-season. We explained that to him and he understood and agreed. So, he’s going to be a threat.
“I thought Justin was good. I thought they all were. I thought they were all good.”
On the impact of the substitutes
Artell was particularly pleased with the contribution made by those introduced from the bench, including Josh Andrews and Jamie Walker.
“Josh Andrews was a right handful when he came on,” he said.
“I said to Cooky then, ‘You’ll be disappointed you haven’t scored a goal, but you were a huge part in the clean sheet – how you set off the press, everything like that.’
“And Josh carried that on.
“When we needed Christy, he pulled off a couple of great saves. Some outstanding saves.
“I thought all the subs that came on were very good. When Jamie Walker came on, he was very good, for example.
“I thought all the subs that came on were very good. We’ve just got to keep going, keep getting better and keep winning games of football.”
On starting strongly against a relegated side
The victory came against an Exeter side who were playing in League One last season, but Artell was keen to stress the quality of the opposition.
“They’re not a bad team at all. Don’t underestimate how good they are,” he said.
“You’ve got to beat the teams. You’ve got to beat them.
“It sort of does matter how you beat them, but it also doesn’t. Most of the fans are like, ‘It doesn’t matter as long as you get three points.’
“But over the course of the season, you can’t rely on luck or just hoping.
“We’ve got some work to do. We’ve definitely got some work to do.
“The window’s still open. We’ve got to integrate players more and more. A couple of them have only just joined us.
“But we’ll get there and we’ll become better as the season progresses, like we did last year.
“So, yeah, it’s a good start. It’s good to pick up points early, good to pick up points at home and good to get a clean sheet. Lots of positives. Hopefully it’ll continue.”
On Ryley Reynolds’ debut
Ryley Reynolds made his Mariners debut after joining the Club on a season-long loan from Notts County, and Artell was impressed by what he saw from the 20-year-old midfielder.
“You can see what he brings,” he said.
“He’s calm, composed and a threat going forward, for sure. He’s creative. He’s one of those little players that can create things and combine well.
“He’s a young kid. He’s got a bit to learn. They’ve all got things to learn and we’ll get that coaching into him and he’ll become more and more effective.
“The more games he plays and the longer the season goes on, he’s going to have a big part to play.”
On remembering Alex Hughes
Saturday’s fixture also provided an opportunity for the Mariners family to remember Player Recruitment Lead Alex Hughes, with his family in attendance for a minute’s applause before kick-off.
Artell spoke emotionally about the tribute and the impact Alex had on the Club.
“Yeah, I wish he was here still, obviously,” he said.
“It was sad, but lovely to see his wife and kids and his parents and his siblings and their family today.
“It’s been a tough summer. There’s no getting around that fact. It’s been a real tough summer.
“But hopefully we make him proud, not just today but throughout the course of the season.
“He’s been a huge part of the last couple of windows, including this one, getting this squad together.
“Hopefully we continue winning games of football for him.”
You can watch David Artell’s full post match interview here:
David Artell is sponsored by DH Tuck Accountants.
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