Lawrence: Three Weeks From Safety

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 09/09/2001

LENNIE LAWRENCE believes that the Mariners could be about three weeks from blasting away fears that they will face a relegation battle come the end of the season.

The Town boss has given the squad a target of maintaining their remarkable start until the end of September if they are to pave the way for a top half finish in May.

"There are no Fulhams, Blackburns or Boltons in this division this year and if we find ourselves anywhere near where we are now at the end of September, we'll have a good season to look forward to," Lawrence told the Grimsby Telegraph.

"By then we'll have played 11 games and we'll have a true picture. Nobody can say after that many games that you're in an unrealistic place in the table."

"This is a chance to not totally, but largely, remove the possibility of a relegation battle. We can't say it yet because it's too early, but if we come out of September like we are now, then maybe."

Blackburn Rovers centre back Marlon Broomes will make his full debut on Tuesday in the Worthington Cup clash with Sheffield United at Blundell Park as he is suffering with a dead leg he got playing for Rovers' Reserves on Tuesday but could be on the bench Saturday.

"I've got a lot of fire in my belly and I want to prove people wrong. I'm determined to do that at Grimsby by playing first-team football." He said

Lennie talked about the effect the good start to the season had on the players saying: "There's a desire and belief, a growing desire and a growing belief, among them. It will get knocked occasionally but it will take a lot of things to puncture it completely. And this week my team is fit. Last week a few of them played after missing the odd training session. Alan Pouton didn't train at all last week and still played against Barnsley. To get anything we'll have to work hard and defend as well as we did at West Brom and certainly better than we did at Portsmouth"

After receiving the manager of the Month award "In the past it's always been that you'll fall flat on your face. But now they don't present you with it on the pitch and it's different now. Let's hope it's a different outcome."

Grimsby Town Squad: Coyne, McDermott, Gallimore, Groves, Beharall, Pouton, Campbell, Willems, Butterfield, Rowan, Jevons, Ermes, Burnett, Allen, Jeffrey, D Smith, Broomes.

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