ANDY GURNEY has urged Town fans to flock to the County Ground on Wednesday night and help get the promotion push back on track.
The message is a simple one from the defender 'we need you now more than ever'.
Town's 11-match unbeaten run finally came to an end on Saturday as Andy King's men crashed 2-1 at league leaders Plymouth Argyle.
Defeat was doubly disappointing for Gurney as he was red-carded for a professional foul late in the game.
The player and his manager have asked referee Peter Walton to look again at the incident with a view to rescinding the card and preventing the player serving a ban.
Gurney said: "I went in to see the referee afterwards to apologise for my reaction and hopefully he'll have a look at it."
But the player's thoughts are already turning to Wednesday night's clash with Grimsby, and the need for Town fans to keep the faith.
He said: "I'd ask them to come back on Wednesday night, really get behind us and help us to get the three points to push on."
Town fans made up 1,823 of a 16,000-plus crowd on Saturday, and King said such a tremendous following made a real statement about the direction in which the club was heading.
He said: "The support was fantastic. Myself and the players really appreciate it. You can see the progression of this club by the away fans present."
As for Gurney's dismissal, King said: "I hope the referee, who was very fair throughout, will reassess the situation."
The Town boss felt defeat at Home Park had shattered any hope of lifting the Division Two title.
He said: "The title was a mathematical possibility before the match. I don't feel it is now."
Giving up the title does not mean giving up the promotion dream, though, and King said: "The challenge for this side was always going to come when the run came to an end. If we beat Grimsby, it's back on track."
Goalkeeper Rhys Evans will be hungry for a clean sheet against the Mariners after conceding a bizarre goal from a close-range indirect free-kick at Home Park.
He got a hand to a Mickey Evans set piece which would have been disallowed had it rolled unaided into the net.
King said: "The boy has been tremendous for us this season and I'm not going to make a rash judgement on him."
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