ARTELL: WE'RE UP FOR THE BATTLE

TRYING to keep a club in the Football League can be a stressful business, but David Artell insists he’s loving the challenge at Grimsby Town.

- John Lyons

The former Crewe boss was handed the Mariners reins in late November, a month after his old Rotherham teammate Paul Hurst had been given the elbow with the side 21st in League Two.

Heading into the weekend, Grims by were still in the same position so it hasn’t been plain sailing for Artell. There have been painful defeats against the likes of Walsall (6-1) and Doncaster (51) at Blundell Park, but there are now signs that things are starting to come together.

A 1-1 draw at Morecambe was followed by a vital 1-0 home victory in last weekend’s relegation six-pointer against Forest Green. The solid goalless draw at AFC Wim bledon, cock-a-hoop after beating MK Dons, in midweek was another step in the right direction. Heading into yesterday’s crunch clash at basement side Sutton, Grims by were seven points above the dotted line with one game in hand on second-bottom Forest Green and two on the U’s.

After watching his side reward more than 450 travelling fans by picking up a point at Plough Lane on Tuesday, Artell told The FLP he was relishing his stint in the dugout at Grimsby, which began a year-and-a-half after he exited Crewe.

“I was ready to come back in and I think I’ve picked a fantastic football club,” said Artell, who led Crewe to promotion from League Two in the Covidhit 2019-20 season. “We’ve got fantastic owners (Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit) and, I have to say, fantastic fans - they were outstanding tonight.

“It’s a Tuesday night in London and they’ve filled half the away end. It’s an unbelievable effort - not many clubs in League Two would do that.”