Pressure mounts on Hurst as Grimsby fall out of play-offs
When the final whistle blew at Blundell Park against Chesterfield, boos rang from some sections of the stands as Grimsby fell to their seventh defeat in eight games, falling out of the play-off places and some fans falling out of patience with their manager.
In his second stint with the national league outfit, Paul Hurst penned a two-and-a-half year deal in December 2020, and could not prevent relegation to the league he promoted the club from just five years prior.
With a raft of players being released and 15 more being brought in this Summer, the manager has assembled a squad in his vision, but many feel it is less than perfect.
There were pre-season concerns about firepower up front, with just Lenell John-Lewis and Ryan Taylor the only recognised ‘traditional strikers’ available.
The defeat to Chesterfield highlighted the importance of a clinical striker and some fans are laying the lack of goals at Hurst’s door.
One fan said on social media that he “needs an attacking coach” and that he “doesn’t fully trust his fringe players” as Will Bapaga, who shone earlier in the season, hasn’t had a full match since the Wealdstone defeat.
Meanwhile, other fans called into question the late change taking off Ryan Taylor for John-Lewis, labelling it as “pointless” while another in the Pontoon stand left saying he was “not accepting this.”
There have also been criticisms of the “constant tinkering” of the team, with a complete change of system to a three at the back being used against Chesterfield.
Speaking about the side’s poor form after the defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge, Paul Hurst has wanted to look at a bigger picture, pointing out that his side were not in the conversation for a title charge in many pre-season previews.
In BT Sport’s pre-season predictions, just one of six pundits – former Grimsby player Chris Hargreaves – mentioned The Mariners, calling them “ones to watch”.
Instead, Chesterfield, Stockport and Wrexham were all listed as title favourites and all of those sides have spent more than Hurst.
Chesterfield signed league top scorer Tshimanga for a reported £200,000, while the other two sides have both signed key players from good EFL sides.
Comment below if you think that time is running out for Paul Hurst or should he be given more time?
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