Where Do We Go From Here?

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 28/12/2001

WITH the sacking of Lennie Lawrence as manager of Grimsby Town comes the announcement that Paul Groves has been appointed player manager with assistant boss John Cockerill retaining his position.

The question now is where do we go from here? Certainly a change was needed, and the board showed great patience with Lawrence and gave him a fair crack of the whip. Other clubs have sacked managers for considerably better performances and results that Lawrence achieved.

But is Groves the right man for the job?

He has to face an uphill battle just to stop the fast descent into relegation and then to drag the team by their bootstraps out of the danger zone.

A hard task for a manager with no experience. Some will say he has Cockers to support him but Cockers was also Lawrence’s assistant and we have witnessed the results of that team effort.

Groves will also have a very difficult task in separating himself from the team as "one of the lads." He is now the gaffer and he has to get that message across very quickly.

He will certainly have to increase his assertiveness which was never there in his captaincy of the side. He was not the sort of captain who could be seen marshalling and motivating the players on the field and was in many instances almost anonymous.

But on the credit side he has been one of the most loyal and productive players seen at Blundell Park and an asset to the club. Perhaps not in recent days as his age is fast catching up on him but he has been an inspiration to some of the younger players and a very good example of what one would expect of a professional footballer.

Of his record at Grimsby Town, he cannot be faulted. But nice guys do not necessarily make good managers.

There will be many who will welcome his appointment and he will certainly have the support of the fans. Paul Groves is Grimsby and that will be a big factor in his support.

We all wish him great success in the job and look forward to a better future with him at the helm. It is now up to every fan and supporter to back him. He deserves that. He has taken on an almost impossible task and will need the best help he can get. And that is Mariners fans urging the team on.

Book your appointment for Saturday’s game! Things are changing at Grimsby Town!!

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