No wholesale changes for Grimsby Town's Forest Green clash - but Elding may start
PAUL Hurst insists there will be no knee-jerk reaction ahead of tomorrow's game against Forest Green Rovers – after a below-par first-half showing against AFC Barrow.
The joint boss admits that his side were below their best for the first 45 minutes in Cumbria, but said that 'all is not lost' and doesn't foresee wholesale changes for the visit of the unbeaten table-toppers (3pm).
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GRASS ACT: Anthony Elding in action during the Blue Square Bet Premier League game between Grimsby Town and Barrow at Holker Street. Picture: Rick Byrne
But, Hurst did say that the impact made by Anthony Elding – who grabbed a stunning brace from the bench to earn his side a point – has pushed the 30-year-old to the forefront of the bosses' thoughts.
He said: "We've talked about the performance against Barrow and know that it wasn't great in the first half.
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"But we've had some good performances in other games so far this season and not all is lost after one bad half – I wouldn't particularly think there will be many changes from the Barrow game.
"It's looking unlikely that Greg Pearson will be involved again.
"It's not looking like his is going to be a long-term injury, but I don't think he'll be available tomorrow."
He added: "Anthony is certainly at the forefront of our minds after the impact he made on Tuesday.
"He was rightly praised for his performance – he did extremely well and got his goals which gave the team confidence.
"It was a night when everything went right for him and he gave the team a big lift, along with Andi Thanoj and Louie Soares.
"If he's anywhere near that performance level, then he'll be a threat to teams in this league. So we might change one or two but it won't be drastic changes."
Regardless of the team that starts the match tomorrow, Hurst believes Town's strong squad will mean they will always have a wealth of options from the bench – the importance of which was underlined on Tuesday evening.
He added: "It is a squad game and some players will have better days than others but that's part and parcel of being a footballer.
"If that wasn't the case, you'd never change the team.
"Not everyone keeps a settle side for any extended length of time.
"That's why you have a squad and why we wanted a good squad – the other night showed us the value of having an extremely strong bench."
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