Grimsby boss feels on-loan Hatter McAtee is getting back to his best after starring role in Mariners win

John McAtee gained an assist for Grimsby at the weekend

Luton striker John McAtee was more like himself according to Grimsby Town boss Paul Hurst after the Hatters loanee turned in a starring role during the Mariners’ 2-1 win over Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

The 23-year-old was starting his third successive League Two match after an extended period out due to a shoulder injury, fellow Town loanee Aribim Pepple not included, almost getting his head to an early cross from Michee Efete.

However, he had a huge influence in the opening goal on seven minutes, delivering the perfect cross for Brendan Kiernan to glance a diving header past Ross Doohan.

Grimsby searched for a second, McAtee lobbing over and sending two other efforts off target.

After the break, McAtee almost picked out Otis Khan, but Grimsby did double their advantage on 58 minutes thanks to Niall Maher’s header.

McAtee sent an overhead kick over, although Rovers had a goal back on 66 minutes when keeper Max Crocombe’s clearance hit Jake Burton and rebounded into the net.

The Luton forward was denied by Doohan after playing a one-two with Kiernan, twice caught offside late on, as he was replaced in the closing stages, Grimsby holding on for a first home win since early October.

McAtee himself tweeted afterwards: “3 points, assist n MOM that’s more like it @officialgtfc,” as boss Hurst told Grimsby Live: “There’s a couple of instances where he still gets ahead of himself and over-commits but I don’t want to take that creative spark away from him.

“The best creative players out there have to take some risks, but it is just about picking the right moments to do that.

“I would suggest there were one or two times in the game where he didn’t.

"His fitness is still building and he is playing in a different role than he became used to with us, which I think worked.

“They didn’t want to come and get too tight to him when he dropped deeper, sometimes teams will follow him into areas which creates space for others, but it was more like the John we know in this game.”