David Artell says Grimsby Town are “heading in the right direction” as the Mariners prepare for their first away trip of the 2026/27 league season at Walsall.
Town head to the Bescot Stadium on Saturday lunchtime looking to build on their opening-day victory over Exeter City, with Artell pleased with the progress made by his squad during another productive week on the training ground.
Here’s everything the Head Coach had to say ahead of Saturday’s trip…
On the squad’s progress
With the new season underway and the transfer window entering its final couple of weeks, Artell believes the Mariners are continuing to move forward.
“We’ve got to be satisfied when the 11 o’clock comes on the 1st September,” he said.
“And we’re heading in the right direction. I think that’s the best way to describe it.
“We’re working extremely hard behind the scenes. It’s been a really difficult and tough summer with the workload, but we have to do it and we get on with it.
“We think we’ve made progress this summer. We think we’re better now than we were in May. I suppose time will tell.”
Artell also stressed that improvement remains an ongoing process across the Club.
“I said this time last year the word of the whole season was progress. That’s still the case.
“We are constantly trying to get better in all aspects, whether that’s playing personnel, new acquisitions, skill acquisition, developing our style of play to be better, whatever it is.
“And while we’ve got the transfer window open, we’re trying to improve. You can make significant improvements with good players coming in.”
On the strength of the squad
The Head Coach is pleased with the competition currently available within his group, with Joe Foulkes providing further depth in the defensive areas.
“Yeah, there’d be a big problem if I said no,” he joked.
“Joe Foulkes is a terrific player. We’ve got a bit more, a lot more in fact, strength behind Harvey.
“If he doesn’t perform, then Joe will be in.”
Artell believes that competition can only benefit the team as the season progresses.
On the week of training
Artell was pleased with the attitude shown by his players throughout the week, with the focus firmly on making the most of every training session.
“We’re still in that phase where plenty of the new lads are still getting used to us,” he said.
“We’re still in the normal, ‘come on lads, skill acquisition’, whether that’s a Kieran Green and Harvey Rodgers or an Elliot Smith.
“It’s picking up things, learning things, getting better at things, and the lads have had a good week.
“They’re striving to be better.”
Artell explained that players need to remain fully engaged in every session if they are to continue developing.
“Don’t waste the days. Don’t waste the days by just having this passing drill or this possession or this technical aspect or whatever the session is.
“You’ve got to be engaged. You’ve got to be in that learning zone, and that’s when you get better, when you’re engaged, when your head’s in the game.
“They’ve been like that this week, and they’re normally like that, I have to say.”
On Elliot Smith’s loan move
Artell also provided an update on the development of Elliot Smith and Charlie Elliott, who are gaining valuable senior experience with Beverley Town and Cleethorpes Town respectively.
“Charlie and Elliot, they’re both coming along great,” he said.
“They can play men’s football and they’re getting opportunities.”
Artell believes the experience of playing senior football is particularly important at this stage of their development.
“It’s about playing men’s football. It’s about keeping that progress up.
“The games programme for them is as important as training and skill acquisition and getting used to what we do.
“There’s no point Charlie playing Under-18 football. The 20 or 25 minutes he’s getting at Cleethorpes Town is worth more than 90 minutes for the youth team because he’s beyond that, and obviously Elliot definitely is.
“It’s really good that we can do that.”
The Head Coach added that the interest being shown by local clubs in taking Town’s young players on loan is a positive sign.
“We want local sides to come to us and say, ‘Will you loan us players?’
“To be fair, we’ve had quite a few requests from quite a few local clubs and that’s a positive thing, so that when they come back, they’re a bit further on in their development.”
On Harvey Rodgers’ Team of the Week recognition
Harvey Rodgers was named in the latest League Two Team of the Week after another impressive performance, and Artell believes the defender’s attacking output is becoming an important part of his development.
“He’s playing well. He’s got to play well,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot more strength behind Harvey and if he doesn’t perform, then Joe will be in.
“It’s great to see him playing well. It’s great to see him already scoring two goals, because we set that challenge to him.
“Without taking anything away from him defensively, getting better for him means creating and scoring more goals.
“They’re really big, obvious bits of learning and development that everyone sees because they are real big and key moments of the game.
“He’s got to keep doing that, and I hope we see him in the Team of the Week more often.”
On Harvey Cartwright, Doug Tharme, Cameron Gardner and Reece Staunton
Artell confirmed that the injured quartet are making progress, although he was unwilling to put firm timescales on their returns.
“They’re getting better,” he said.
“I have seen Doug outside. I’ve seen Cam Gardner outside. I’ve seen Reece outside.
“I know they’re still not close to coming in with the group, but I’ve seen them outside doing early-stage, end-stage rehab.
“They’re heading in the right direction.”
When asked about potential return dates, Artell added: “I couldn’t tell you. It depends on how much they progress.
“It could be next week. I have no idea. It depends. I don’t put pressure on them. The players, the staff, they’ll recover when they recover.”
On the challenge of Walsall
Town face a different Walsall side to the one they encountered last season, with Artell expecting a more varied approach from the hosts under their new management team.
“A different Walsall,” he said.
“Lee’s got them playing more football, more of a mixture. They were very direct last year and running.
“They can still be direct into pressing, but they’ll also play more football, so they’ve got a real nice blend.
“When I say more of a challenge, I mean in the way that it’s not just one way, so you’ve got to be able to do both ways.”
Artell knows the Mariners will need to perform at their best to come away with a positive result.
“It’ll be a tough game. It always is against Walsall.
“But it’s one that we’ll meet head on. We know that if we play well, we’ll give anyone a game in this league, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
On the travelling support
The Mariners are expected to be backed by more than 1,000 supporters at the Bescot Stadium, with Artell once again praising the Club’s travelling support.
“The fans, the away fans are outstanding,” he said.
“It’s not exactly around the corner, with it being an early kick-off. I presume it’s an early start, whether it’s a coach or a train, whatever.
“We’re really grateful because it does make a difference.
“I can’t wait to see them all. Hopefully we give them plenty to cheer about and hopefully we get a win like we did there last year.”
You can watch David Artell’s full pre-match interview here:
David Artell is sponsored by DH Tuck Accountants.
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