Not to be missed: The Doncaster Rovers former manager abruptly resigned, and the team is considering whether to bring him back. Still, though,

The Mariners head coach has reflected on another sizeable defeat saying ‘we’ve got to make sure we don’t perform like that ever again’

David Artell could not excuse Grimsby Town’s performance in their 5-1 defeat at home to Doncaster Rovers, which ramped up the pressure on him and his team.

While Sutton United and Forest Green Rovers were not able to make up any ground on the Mariners, this latest result placed them firmly in a scrap for their Football League status, with Doncaster extending their gap to Town to seven points with an emphatic victory.

Once again, Grimsby were caught off the pace of the game in the opening passages as the visitors went two ahead with just eight minutes on the clock and that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

It was Town’s sixth defeat in their last nine, and taking out the away games it was a fifth defeat in six outings at Blundell Park, with 23 goals conceded in total during that home stretch.

“[Doncaster] scored a very good first goal and that happens,” said Artell. “We then conceded a quick goal which knocked us. Then for the rest of that first half, we were comfortably the better side. Even their staff said the same thing.

We got a goal and should have been 3-2 in front. You got in 2-1 and we are still in the game. Really in it. And that’s the first half. We go out and concede again after six minutes and that knocked the stuffing out of us. It’s not the first time that’s happened.

“We have to understand that teams are trying to knock the stuffing out of us. It doesn’t have to be fatal. That’s football and that’s life. People will try and knock you down. The question is, do you get back up? Some of our lads found that difficult after the third goal.”