I'LL KEEP MAKING MY POINT'

New Grimsby boss will do it his way

- Chris Dunlavy

DAVID Artell has spent much of his 18-month hiatus pondering how to become a better manager.

He's learned the importance of delegation. Absorbed advice on reflection from Pep Guardiola and on the power of perceptions from Sam Allardyce.

But one thing the new Grimsby Town manager won't be changing is his energetic touchline demeanour.

Artell's five years in the dugout at Crewe yielded considerable success but frequent censure from referees, who felt his non-stop gesticulating strayed over the line from enthusiasm to aggression.

The 43-year-old says he has "worked hard at changing that perception" but wholeheartedly agrees with the assessment of former Oxford boss Karl Robinson, who said recently that where an overseas coach is praised for his passion, a Brit is castigated for losing the plot.

"I couldn't have put it better myself," says Artell, who enjoyed a long professional career with Rotherham, Mansfield, Morecambe and Crewe before stepping up from the Under-23s to make his managerial bow at Gresty Road in 2017.

"And to be honest, I think that's why so many managers these days just stand there.