Grimsby Town boss Ian Holloway wants his players to start believing in themselves ahead of Mansfield Town test

Grimsby Town manager Ian Holloway says his side have to cut out basic mistakes. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

Depleted Town have been plunged into a relegation battle this season as their young squad struggle to find their feet.

But the Mariners’ manager is backing his boys to improve - if they begin to have faith in themselves.

“I want us to believe that we are getting better not worse,” he said.

Ian Holloway wants his Grimsby Town players to start believing in themselves. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

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“Do the players believe in themselves like I do? When they believe in themselves like I do then we will grow.

“This is a great time to judge their character. I didn't get to do that in the summer because I didn't get to see them play for months.

“I have a lot of work to do and I'm really motivated to do it.

“We have to keep going, we have to keep believing. I still believe in what we are trying to do, but it won’t work if the players don't believe in themselves in the way I do.”

But Holloway admits his side must tighten up at the back if they are to start racking up the wins.

He was left particularly angry at the goals his side conceded in the weeked 2-1 defeat at Colchester.

“We have to stop the mistakes,” he added. “Football is a horrible game when you don't get what you deserve.

“I blame my players for making terrible mistakes and not being how I would be if I was out there.

“From a corner I would be ready to attack the ball first and not watch it go past me. We went 1-0 down to an absolutely pathetic goal.

“We came back and I don’t know how we ended up losing it. We should have tackled their player outside the box (for Colchester’s winner). There were two players on him who didn't deal with it.

“Again, we are backing off, what are we doing?

“It is not good enough deserving of something unless you're prepared to make it yours, We need to be prepared to do that.

Sometimes the score doesn’t reflect the performance, but there’s far too many mistakes being made.”

Town are likely to be without former Stags favourite Matt Green who is out injured, along with fellow forward Sean Scannell.

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