Grimsby boss labels Luton FA Cup tie as 'one of the worst draws' for his Mariners side

Grimsby Town boss Paul Hurst has described his side’s FA Cup fourth round tie with Luton as one of the ‘worst draws’ the Mariners could have had.

After beating three League One teams in Plymouth Argyle, Cambridge United and then Burton Albion to reach this stage of the competition for the first time in 23 years, the reward for the Blundell Park club is a trip to Luton on Saturday, January 28.

The Hatters got past Wigan Athletic 2-1 in a third round replay on Tuesday evening, Elijah Adebayo’s stoppage time winner sending the Hatters through at the DW Stadium, but speaking to Grimsby Live, Hurst, who won’t be able to select on-loan Town forward John McAtee for the tie, said: “I think for a lot of people it was one of the worst draws you could get for a club in our position.

"It’s not a Premier League club but the expectation is that they will beat us and rightly so.

“So I am not sure where the merit is for us in all this for the run we’ve been on.

"We’ll look forward to it in one way in the sense that it will be another big challenge for us.

"The players have earnt the right to make it to this stage with three great results.

“It wasn’t quite the draw that many would want, but our opponents are pleased with it!

"They’ll definitely see it as a good chance to progress to the fifth round, but when it comes around, we’ll see what we are able to do.”