No 'bad eggs' in Grimsby Town squad says Danny Rose as captain reflects on recent good form
The captain’s view is that there are no “bad eggs” in the Grimsby Town squad as Danny Rose reflects on the positive changes the team have made this term.
The Mariners are in as good a form as anyone in League Two currently, with four wins in their last five league fixtures propelling them into the early battle for the promotion places.
There are a lot of clubs in that contest currently, with just 11 matches completed for most, but Town are in a much better position than they were at this point last season, which is a sign of the progress made under David Artell.
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Rose was part of the team that struggled for large spells last term and has seen the full transition of the playing style, among other things, under Artell. The 30-year-old striker is enjoying the team environment at the club, made better by the summer additions.
“I’ve really enjoyed it here since I signed,” said Rose. “The players, the staff and the fans have all taken to me, which has made my time here easier in terms of settling in because that can be difficult to do sometimes.
“The club have signed some good players this season, and there are no bad eggs in the team; we all get along, and we’re all looking to dig in together. I think you can see with the recent away performances that we’re prepared to do that.
“The lads that have come off the bench in those games have made a real impact as well in helping see things out. We need that, once everyone does come back from injury, we’ll have a big squad to choose from, and we’ll need a big effort to be at the right end of the table.”
League Two seems to be as open as it has ever been in terms of the promotion race, and the way the season has started has been in line with that thought.
Just three points separate the top eight teams, and it takes only another three points to get down to 13th-placed Newport County, with Grimsby currently in the middle of that top-half pack.
Rose is pleased the team have started things at the right end and have a platform from which to build as they look to continue to break unwanted patterns the club have experienced as a League Two club in recent times.
The Mariners skipper added: “[League Two] feels a little bit different this year in terms of there not really being a team that you can see running away with it, so it feels open, and it’s an opportunity for everyone, and there is no reason why we can’t be one of them [that goes up].
“You can be starting to look over your shoulder at this point, but we’ve had a good start, and we’ve got that away burden off our shoulders going to teams that have spent big and getting maximum points [from the last three].
“We never really put ourselves in a position to compete [last season], and that is something we want and have begun to change this season. We want to look at what’s ahead of us rather than behind with respect to the league table. We’ll stay focused and try to continue this good start.”