Grimsby Town need to put off field matters out of their minds as they travel to meet Bath City.
Boardroom issues, suspensions, tuesday’s abandoned match, and the ongoing search for a new manager, all have to be put to one side as Dave Moore’s team need to concentrate on collecting three more valuable points.
Bath City have certainly had their fair share of news headlines this week.
Like Grimsby, these have, in the main, been concerned with non playing matters.
Saturday sees the day of the club’s ‘Project 3,000`, which is their attempt to attract the first 3,000+ attendance for a league match since 1978.
Elements of the campaign have caused controversy, notably the discounted admission price of £2-50 being offered to the local Polish community and to the substantial number of students in the Bath area.
For this reason, this match has received more national press and radio coverage than probably any other Blue Square Bet Premier match this season.
Vital Quotes:
Caretaker boss Dave Moore expressed his concern over the disciplinary side of his team’s performances when he spoke on Mariners Player :
Moore said : ‘It’s not good enough to keep losing bodies.
‘That’s four players who I can’t choose from against Bath because they are suspended.
‘We have to do better than that.
‘I want the team to be aggressive and determined, but there is a fine dividing line between doing that and sitting in the dressing room.
‘I’ve said we can’t tip-toe through this league and need to get tough, but we need to do that with eleven players on the field’.
Talking about the manager’s role, he added :
‘I don’t want the job, but I want to do the job as well as I possibly can while I’m doing it.
‘Nothing would please me more than being able to hand over undefeated, whether it’s on Monday or next Monday.
‘When the new manager comes in, hopefully he will be coming in for three or four years.
‘So fans shouldn’t worry if the new manager loses the first game.
‘He will be looking at the whole club and what we need to move forward. He is going to be the future’.
With Bath sitting comfortably in 14th place in the BSB Premier table, City boss Adie Britton told his club’s official website :
‘If we could finish in the top half of the table it would be fantastic.
‘I think the break did us good. We gave the players a week off and they looked sharp and refreshed in training on Tuesday.
‘It was like the beginning of a school term, everyone was buoyant and having a laugh’.
Bath City Team News:
Having been without a fixture last weekend, City still have several injury concerns despite the rest.
Sekani Simpson is still troubled by a hamstring strain, whilst Lewis Hogg has had further treatment this week on his pelvic problem.
Adie Harris (hamstring) was able to train this week, but is still short of match fitness.
The same applies to Danny Webb who will have to wear a protective mask to cover his fractured cheekbone when he returns to league action.
Adam Connolly, who was man of the match when City ousted Grimsby from the FA Cup last season, has a swollen knee. Manager Adie Britton told the club’s website, ‘It’s concerning because he’s had the same problem at this stage in the past two seasons’.
Striker Jonathan Brown could also miss Saturday’s game after being offered a trial with Football League club Bradford City.
Player to watch: Lewis Hogg
The former Barnet and Bristol Rovers player is a typical box to box midfielder.
Lewis does also weigh in with his share of goals.
Grimsby Town Team News:
The Mariners are without four players through suspension. Ademeno and Kempson have both received red cards this week, and so join Hudson and Cummins in the sin bin.
Heaven only knows when Bryan Hughes’ achilles problem will clear up. He is still struggling and unlikely to feature. He only signed until the end of the season – and that’s not too far away !
Peter Bore has missed some training due to a tight groin, and will undergo a late fitness test. If he doesn’t make it, Bradley Wood will deputise at right back.
Keeper Kenny Arthur is back in training, but Moore will make a late decision as to whether Arthur or Steve Croudson will start in goal.
Player to watch: Alan Connell
Alan was back on target against both Kettering and Rushden, although his penalty strike on tuesday will not be included in the record books.
His partnership with Rob Duffy is taking shape, and Alan is back in predatory mode, and so the goals will surely follow.
Match Facts & Stats
The two clubs have only ever met twice before.
On both occasions, they were FA Cup ties and they were both both played at Blundell Park.
Bath fans will remember their famous victory over the Mariners last year, when they were in the Blue Square South, and Grimsby were in League Two !
Sat, 7 Nov ’09 Town 0 – Bath 2
Sat, 6 Dec ’52 Town 1 – Bath 0
Next Fixtures:
Tues, 22 March (h) Gateshead – 7.45pm
Sat, 26 March (h) Tamworth – 1pm
Tues, 29 March (h) Darlington – 7.45pm
