The midfielder made his Mariners debut against Manchester City U21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.
Paul Hurst elaborated on midfield loan acquisition Jamie Andrews’ contribution at Grimsby Town this season and how it may effect his selection decisions.
The 20-year-old joined from West Bromwich Albion this week and made his debut in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, playing ahead of Alex Hunt and Evan Khouri in central midfield.
Andrews has played all the numerous roles that can be filled in the middle of the park during his development years at West Brom, and in a loan spell at Yeovil Town last term, he functioned primarily as a box-to-box type, which Hurst wants to see him do at Grimsby.
“He can play as an eight, whether on the right or left side, and he can play if we go with two holding midfielders, so I wanted someone to come in with that adaptability,” he said.
“That was something I wanted to be able to change because that was the area that we potentially tweaked when I had what I considered my best team available.” There could have been one or two more things, but it was the area where we thought we could make a difference.
Hurst frequently changes the mix of his midfield to deal with the many problems that League Two throws at the club in certain areas. The Grimsby manager alluded to the necessity for a versatile midfielder who could deal with the frequent changes.
“It was important for me that he could do both roles, and the person coming in had to be capable of playing as an eight,” Hurst explained.
“He put a couple of good balls in [against Man City], but he’ll probably want to improve on that.” He’s scored a few goals in his career, and he’s surely capable of doing so for us as well.
“We’ll see how he develops with us, but he’s certainly a player who I believe is comfortable in possession, which is one of the most important characteristics for a midfielder.”
It will be interesting to observe how the addition of another name affects the struggle for positions in midfield, which is already the most crowded position in the Town team. Hurst’s stance on the matter has typically stayed consistent; he loves competition for selection but will facilitate a departure if it is in the best interests of the club.
“I don’t want them to be content; I want them to want to be a part of the team,” Hurst explained. “I don’t see anyone leaving [in the near future] because if they do, it will be a drop down a league.”
“Alex [Hunt] started the season and then came out, and Evan [Khouri] may not have had as many minutes as some of the others.”
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