Crewe boss says Grimsby may have lost their main man but they still pose a major threat

David Artell admits that any team would miss a forward of Omar Bogle’s potential and quality but he stresses that tomorrow’s opponents Grimsby Town will still provide a stern test. The Mariners sold Bogle to Championship side Wigan Athletic on transfer deadline day and he promptly scored a brace on his full debut for the Latics to take his overall tally for the season to 21 goals in all competitions.

Bogle, who played a significant part in seeing Grimsby return to the EFL last season, led the League Two goalscoring charts along with Barnet’s John Akinde before he left for Wigan and Artell says he will be an obvious loss.

Ahead of our meeting with Grimsby, the Crewe boss said: “Losing Bogle is obviously going to be a big miss because he scored a lot of goals for them and had a real physical presence, but Grimsby still have players who can score goals.

“Chris Clements, who we know all about, scored last weekend and they got a draw with Luton so we know they are a good side. They have lost one of their better players, but they still have good players and are a decent team.

“They will be a tough nut to crack but if our mind-set is right and we approach the game like we did against Cheltenham then we have a good chance. We have to be positive and have a strong believe that we can win the game.

He added: “If we can play as well as we did against Cheltenham and include a goal or a couple of goals in that then that would be perfect.”