David Artell reflects on his Sixfields spell and discusses Hogg's Cobblers ahead of Grimsby Town clash

The Mariners made the play-offs last season and were among the quickest of the blocks this term before losing three in a row. Nonetheless, currently sitting 11th, they will start Saturday’s game as favourites at home to Chris Hogg’s 23rd-placed Cobblers.

Artell said: “I know Hoggy and I’m sure he saw lots as a number two to Liam (Manning) but it still doesn’t fully prepare you for sitting in the big chair. Your time is much more precious and people are more demanding of your time.

“Ultimately the buck stops with you and you have to be comfortable with that responsibility, but I’m sure he will do a good job and they are a good team - they shouldn’t be where they are.

“He’s made them really hard to beat and he’s got some very good foundations in place. It won’t be an easy game for sure, anyone looking at the league table who thinks that only needs to look at what happened against Port Vale last week. I said the same about them that I’m saying about Northampton and it’s true. I wouldn’t say it if I thought they deserved to be there.

“Northampton certainly don’t deserve to be near the bottom of the table because they’re a good team that plays good football. Yes, they have weaknesses, as do all teams at this level, but they’re not as poor as the league table suggests.”

Three of the relegated teams from last season - Rotherham, Port Vale and Northampton - are in the current bottom five.

Artell added: “There’s been two double relegations in the last few seasons so it doesn’t surprise me that those teams are down there. You have to be careful when you get relegated out of League One, but it’s still very early days and I expect Northampton to be closer to the top than the bottom by the end of the season.

“They’re just finding their feet and readdressing the losing habit that they carried over from last season, and they will do.”

Asked about his brief spell at Sixfields in 2012/13, Artell said: “I enjoyed my first 11 games because I scored four goals, and then I tore my Achilles and I was out for over five months. I then got a blood clot and missed the rest of the season and couldn’t even train, which was unfortunate. It’s a good club with nice people and it’s a shame that I didn’t play more for them.”

Grimsby, who will be without Mark Shelton, Josh Andrews and Reece Staunton, have lost their last three games, beaten by Newport, Shrewsbury and Port Vale.

Artell added: “We know we can play much better than we’ve played in the last game and a half. We’ve had three poor halves out of four and a few reminders were needed in training this week but the players have responded really well. It’s about getting back to what we are.

“This is the first time we’ve lost three on the spin since I came in and for me it’s about making sure the players go back to what they are and really simplify it, make it easy to understand and focus on the basics. The players have trained really well and when you train well, it gives you a much better chance of winning.”