It's been a tough start to the campaign for Grimsby, with Alan Buckley's men currently languishing second from bottom in the League Two table after last weekend's disappointing 4-1 defeat at Accrington. After finishing last season very strongly, the Mariners faithful were hoping for a promotion challenge this time round but as yet the team have failed to fire on all cylinders. That said, it's still very early days and a victory against Stockport this weekend could be the start of an upturn in form for Grimsby. Givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with experienced defender to get his thoughts on the opening five games.
Q:YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULT AT ACCRINGTON?
A:It was just one of those days when nothing seemed to go right for us. We've played well at times in games this season and not picked up any points to show for it but the Accrington game is the first time that we've played badly. But credit to them because they deserved the win.
Q:SO, APART FROM THE ACCRINGTON GAME, YOU THINK THE TEAM HAS BEEN PLAYING REASONABLY WELL?
A:We have played well at times but we haven't been able to turn our good play into wins. What we now need to do is begin to pick up points on a regular basis and start climbing the league table. It's still very early in the season and a couple of victories would make our position look a lot different.
Q:WHAT HAS BEEN ALAN BUCKLEY'S REACTION TO THE START?
A:I think he's recognised that we've been unlucky at times because we've certainly been creating enough chances to have won more games. He has faith in the players and it's important that we start to take our chances in front of goal. If we can do that there's no reason why we won't have a successful season.
Q:HAS PUTTING THE BALL IN THE NET BEEN THE BIGGEST PROBLEM?
A:It's certainly been one of them. We're averaging a goal per game but we should have scored more from the chances we have created. But the game against Stockport is the chance to put last weekend behind us and we need a win because we can't let the teams at the top of the league get to far ahead of us.
Q:I SUPPOSE THE TEAM WILL BE HOPING TO RECAPTURE THE EXCELLENT FORM FROM THE END OF LAST SEASON?
A:Yeah, we were on a real roll and a lot of people thought we would start where we left off. Given that there were only a couple of additions to the squad over the summer, we were all hoping for a better start but the key is to find our consistency and if we do that we’ll be okay. It's about putting runs of results together – draws away from home and then winning your home games – that's what enables sides to mount a promotion challenge.
Q:WHICH SIDES DO YOU THINK WILL BE UP THERE TOWARDS THE TOP OF LEAUGUE TWO THIS SEASON?
A:People often ask me this question and it's almost impossible to say because there are so many teams with hopes of winning promotion. The thing about this league is that any team can beat any other on the day – which is why you need to be consistent. Darlington have started very well and I like the look of their squad because they have plenty of experience. Peterborough are another side that are being talked about because they've spent a fair amount of money and have a lot of new players in their squad.
