Grimsby Town may swoop for wide man after Scott Neilson red card

JOINT manager Rob Scott says Grimsby Town will now look to fill the gap left by the suspension of Scott Neilson after the winger was sent off in the defeat to Macclesfield.

The 25-year-old was shown a straight red card after kicking out at the Silkmen's Kieran Murtagh late on in Saturday's 1-0 home loss.

It means that the man on loan from Crawley will miss his side's next three games – and Scott hinted that he and Paul Hurst may have to look for reinforcements to cope with that absence.

He said: "If I'm being 100 per cent honest, I didn't see the incident and I had to ask Paul, but apparently Scott kicked out and, if so, it's stupid.

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"It was a culmination of frustration. We all felt that frustration on Saturday, but you can't do that and expect to get away with it.

"Now we've got find someone to fill the area, whether that's from within the squad, or whether we'll have to look elsewhere again, we'll see."

There haven't been many home comforts for Grimsby Town to enjoy of late.

Scott admits his side are in the middle of a "slump" at Blundell Park after their latest loss.

However, the strength of the Mariners squad, coupled with the overall performance against the Silkmen, gives Scott cause for belief that his side can soon turn it around.

But Town face a wait before their next opportunity to bounce back at home, given that their next two games come away from Cleethorpes – firstly against Tamworth on Saturday and then at Hyde the following Tuesday.

And Scott will be looking for a continuation of their excellent away form, which he says has kept their season "ticking along" in spite of recent results at home.

"We've told the players that they're under a bit of pressure at home at the minute because they're not winning that many games," he said.

"But the players we have here work extremely hard and we'll keep working hard to put things right.

"There's no getting away from the fact that we're on a bit of a slump at home, and it's just as well that our away form has been so good, because it's keeping us ticking us along.

"But let's be fair, we're 16 games in and we're fifth in the league, so we're alright – but we'll keep pushing on to improve. Every team has their peaks and troughs and I think we're seeing that throughout the league at the moment.

"We are in a bit of a lull, but we've got to shake ourselves down and get on with it."

Scott was encouraged with his side's general play.

He said: "I thought we were by far the better team. Their keeper pulled off five or six saves that on another day he wouldn't, and we would have gone on and won the game two or three nil.

"But at 0-0, there is always a danger. Because we were at home we were maybe a little naive in thinking that we had to go out and win the game.

"If you come off at the end of the game with a draw, yes it's not the result that you wanted at home, but it's another point on the board – unfortunately we weren't alive to that and we got punished.

"We were disappointed but by no means distraught though, because again, without being at our best, we did well and created enough chances to win the game.

"But it is a third defeat at home on the bounce and so the manner of the performance doesn't give you too much solace because you haven't taken the three points.

"That said, if we're playing like we did at the weekend, then there's positives then because we're making chances without being at our best and forcing the opponents to work hard to get something out of the game.

"If we carry on like that, things will turn around at home – I'm sure of that."