Grimsby were unsuccessful in their bid to return to the Football League as they fell short at the play-off hurdle for a second season in a row. There was little change in personnel over the summer after a strong previous campaign for the Mariners and they were certainly considered among the most serious challengers for the title. Bringing in some experienced players like Scott Kerr and Clayton McDonald lifted the overall quality of the squad and the team once again relied on solid defending and direct football up front. They made a slightly disappointing start of the season before things got out of his hand early in September. A loss to Nuneaton prompted an angry confrontation between co-manager, Rob Scott, and a player in the dressing room and the former was officially let go soon after that. Paul Hurst was left to manage on his own for the rest of the season and the impact on the overall mood of the squad was profound in the games after that. They delivered a stinker of a performance at Halifax for a 4:0 defeat but bounced back relatively well after that and remained on the fringes of the play-off places. They actually won nine games out of 12 leading up to the festive period and actually played as well as any team in the league during that period. Lenell John-Lewis was blossoming into the major attacking threat for the team while the leadership of Kerr was proving invaluable in midfield. Hurst was basically letting some very good players do their own and the harmony in the squad was impressive. Moreover, the Mariners enjoyed a run to the third round of the FA Cup and nearly pulled off a shock win over Huddersfield only to agonisingly lose 3:2. They also had a good run in the FA Trophy but eventually lost out to Cambridge in the semi-finals. These distractions had their effect on the league form and the Mariners went on a rather prolonged run of poor results, getting a mere one league win from late December to March 1. Yet, Hurst re-focused his side while the loan arrivals, Andrew Boyce and Connor Jennings, brought freshness and quality to the squad. A run of four away wins, all with clean sheets, moved the team decisively in the play-off places and the rest of the regular season was a formality as they finished fourth. Yet, they could get past an inspired Gateshead side in the semi-finals and eventually lost 4:2 on aggregate despite being the better side over the two legs. They were hard done by some refereeing decisions and were also let down by a mistake from the keeper in the second leg. It all adds to the disappointment at what was an ultimately failed campaign. But Hurst is staying on and will be motivated to use the lessons learned and make the big step up next year.
