Grimsby Town boss Michael Jolley hopes his side can produce a “really good performance” against Forest Green Rovers to pick up their first points of 2019 in Sky Bet League Two on Tuesday (7.45pm).
The Mariners face Mark Cooper’s men, who sit seventh-place in the league on Tuesday, with the hope of picking up their first points of the calendar year.
And Town boss Jolley hopes his side can be at their best and produce an impressive performance to claim the points at the New Lawn.
Speaking on iFollow Mariners, he said: “We need to try and bring a result back, whether it’s a draw or a win, that’s what we’re going there for.
“We need to try and bring a point or three back with us, and it will take a really good performance to do that because they’re a good team, but it’s certainly not beyond our possibility to do that.
“It’s within our grasp to perform at the level that we know we can.
“I really like the way that Mark Cooper’s teams play. He’s a possession-based coach – they play attractive football, and they were excellent against Bury, they should’ve won that game.
“So we’re under no illusions about the size of the task, but we think we can do well if we perform at a good level.”
And Jolley believes both sides will have improved since the Mariners’ 4-1 opening-day defeat to Cooper’s men at Blundell Park.
He said: “I think we have improved. I think we were still finding ourselves, and finding our feet at the start of the season – after changing a lot of things in the summer.
“But I think they’ve probably improved too. They’ve only lost five league games this season so they’re in the top seven for a reason.
“It’s another difficult opponent for us, but we think that when we play well, and we get on the right side of those fine margins, we can get results against most of the teams in the league.”
Elliot Embleton is a doubt for the game, but Danny Collins and Harry Clifton could return from their injuries, while on-loan Blackburn Rovers defender Joe Grayson could also be involved.
Watch Michael Jolley’s pre-Forest Green press conference for free on iFollow Mariners as he gives a transfer update, and speaks about the development of his side’s style of play.
