Grimsby Town Manager Neil Woods says he is under no pressure to sell any of his players in the January transfer window as he looks to retain the Club’s Football League status at the first attempt.
Grimsby dropped out of the League for the first time in nearly 100 years when they were relegated at the end of last season and Woods who was Head of the Youth at the Club before being appointed as Manager is keen to keep hold of his best players as he plots a course back to the Football League.
Peter Bore and Rob Atkinson have both turned down new contracts at Blundell Park, and while Town’s recent form has thrown the spotlight on Cleethorpes, Woods remains unaffected by transfer speculation.
“Bore and Atkinson have rejected the contracts on offer at the moment,” Woods said.
“But it’s an ongoing procedure; they are contracted until the end of the season. Negotiations are going on. Peter can’t leave before then anyway because of his age.”
“So even if we get offers – which we haven’t had at this moment – it’s still up to us whether we want to take them.”
“We’re trying to build a side to get us back in the Football League. I think you can tell by both players’ recent performances that if things don’t get settled in the short-term it won’t affect them. They are both professional lads and enjoy being here.”
“We’re not looking to get rid of any players; we’re looking to build on the quality we already have. We have to turn these situations into a positive.”
“I was in charge during the January window last season and we didn’t get one call or enquiry for any player we had.”
“If people are starting to enquire and are looking at our players, it means we are going in the right direction and we’ve got players that people are interested in.”
Bore’s hat trick against the Stags was his first three-goal blast since he managed the same trick in Town’s 6-0 victory over Boston in February 2007 – the last time they scored six away from home until their victory at Histon this week.
After being made available for a loan move out of Cleethorpes by former boss Mike Newell last season, Bore has been a stand-out performer under his former Youth mentor Woods and won the Club’s player of the year award last season.
The Town boss added: “We all know what Peter is capable of. Pete can go as far in football as he wants to go. Athletically he’s gifted with attributes we all would have liked. He works very hard.”
“His previous game against Redditch United was probably not his best. But he showed the character to come back and produce a performance against Mansfield. He deserves the accolades. Everybody has a price – that goes without saying at this level. But it’s got to be good money for someone like Peter.”
