Gary Jones is confident Chester FC can capitalise on the off-field unrest at Grimsby Town and grab their first back-to-back wins of the season.

The Blues host the Mariners on Saturday (3pm) fresh from their vital victory against local rivals Macclesfield on Tuesday.

Grimsby, who parted company with joint manager Rob Scott earlier this month, leaving Paul Hurst in sole control, were being beaten 4-0 by Halifax while Chester were busy seeing off the Silkmen.

The win has installed a real belief that Chester can push on up the league table and assistant boss Jones – who spent three years at Grimsby during his playing career – is looking forward to seeing some old friends at the Deva.

“I fully enjoyed it there so it will be nice to pit our wits against them and see some familiar faces,” said Neil Young’s right-hand man.

“They’ve had a decent start but obviously they didn’t have a good result on Tuesday.

“In recent weeks they’ve obviously had their managerial issues but hopefully it’s a good time for us to play them after that defeat and their problems behind the scenes.

“I think it is a good time to play them. But before their defeat this week they had a good run of results and they seemed to be on a bit of a pickup.

“Maybe it’s dented their confidence slightly and on the back of our lads getting a win as well, we will have a good chance.

“It’s still a big transition from last season, playing against full-time teams, so the team is still learning. But I don’t think we’re far off from getting where we want to be.”

Despite the slip-up against Salisbury on Saturday, Chester’s performances have picked up, particularly in the first half against Macclesfield.

Jones is adamant that the Blues will improve as they learn more about the league but sympathised with wide men Craig Mahon and Craig Lindfield, who have found themselves on the fringes of the squad.

He added: “I still think we will be OK and I still think we will be a mid-table team and perhaps try and push for one of the last play-off places.

“At the moment when you’re in that lower part of the league, you just need to grind out results and we’ve been having problems with set plays so me and Neil just thought we needed to toughen up for a bit so we can find our feet.

“It’s hard on Mahon and Lindfield but at this time in the season, when we’re just finding out about the league, we’ve just got to go strong and physical.

“I’m sure as the season goes on, the football will start filtering back into the team.”