After looking like serious relegation candidates up until Christmas, Grimsby have now won their last five games on the bounce to lift themselves out of trouble in the League Two table. The 1-0 victory against Wrexham at Blundell Pak on Saturday took Alan Buckley's men up to 14th place and Mariners' fans might just be starting to dream of an unlikely challenge for a play-off place during the second half of the campaign. Givemefootball's Mark Shail logged the thoughts of young Town striker Danny North after the 20-year-old netted the all-important winner in the second half against the Red Dragons.
Q:YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED TO MAKE IT FIVE STRAIGHT WINS AT THE WEEKEND?
A:It was a great result for us as I don't believe Wrexham are as bad a side as their league position makes out. They've got a few big lads and are a physical side so it was a difficult game.
Q:ALAN BUCKLEY SAID THE TEAM WERE NOT AT YOUR BEST DESPITE THE VICTORY – WOULD THAT BE FAIR?
A:The performance from us wasn't that great and we have not played our best football in the last few weeks. But it was pleasing to see we can grind out results and get three points without playing our best. The feeling at half time was one of frustration more than anything else. We had a few chances and, to be fair we should have been two or three up.
Q:BUT YOU MUST HAVE BEEN MORE SATISFIED WITH THE SECOND HALF DISPLAY?
A:Yes, a few of us had to lift our games a bit because we weren’t at the races – including myself. It wasn't a mater of not trying. I couldn't tell you what it was. But there was massive frustration at half time and the gaffer just told us to dig in and up our game. They had a chance to open the scoring but Phil Barnes made an awesome save and we came out and did better in the second half.
Q:CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WINNING GOAL?
A:Tom (Newey) saw me making a run and sent a pass through but the ball was skidding away and I didn't know where the keeper or defenders were. At the last second I saw the keeper coming and I jut managed to get my toe to it. It seemed like an age for it to go in. I could see from where I was that it was over the line and the linesman gave it straight away. I was just delighted to add to my tally (six so far this season) and for us to get another three points.
Q:AND THE TEAM SEEM BE DEFENDING A LOT BETTER NOW?
A:Yes, it was nice to keep a clean sheet. Our backline have been solid all over Christmas. It is good to see we are defending better as a unit right throughout the team.
Q:GRIMSBY ARE NOW UP TO 14TH – YOU MUST BE PLEASED WITH THAT AFTER SUCH AN INDIFFERENT START?
A:Now we are on a good run and the fans are a bit more expectant of us, but we can only take one game at a time. It was good to get a home win as a lot of our recent victories have been away. At home we need to do a bit more to please our fans. It's always great to get a win at Blundell Park and we need to turn this into a fortress so teams are afraid of coming here.
