Grieving Grimsby Town boss Ian Holloway apologises to Harrogate Town after 'one of the worst days of my life'

The Mariners boss clashed with opposite number Simon Weaver and members of the Sulphurites' back-room team as the final whistle sounded at Blundell Park.

But, Holloway, who was visibly furious at full-time, would later open up on the circumstances which led him to describe October 20, 2020 as “one of the worst days of my life”.

Speaking after his side's 2-1 defeat, he said: "Well done to them. I think they’re winners, I think they understand what they’re doing, and I’ve had one of the worst days of my life.

“One of my best mates killed himself, and it really just puts all of this nonsense in its place, to be honest.

“I feel for his family, I feel for his wife and his children. It’s just absolutely soul-destroying.

"I’m really not happy with my behaviour on the bench. I’ve gone and apologised to them, I was far too emotional, but I don’t know what’s expected of me sometimes.

"Life’s just so weird at the moment.”

Despite the distress that he was contending with on the night, Holloway still made time to praise Town for their performance.

He added: "Really we don’t know that back-five well enough to move it quickly enough against their good pressing, their tenacity, and really they could have been two or three up before we gave them a goal.

"We weren’t quite good enough in the first half. When you look at it, they are very, very professional.

"What we’ve got to do is make sure we’re ready to take on whoever we’re playing, and stop them first.

“I tried to beat them first, and we’re not good enough for that yet, so well done to them."

It is understood that Holloway knocked on the door of the Harrogate dressing room and apologised post-match, while he also sought out Weaver.

Speaking to BBC Radio York even before he was aware of his counterpart's circumstances, Town's manager still chose to play the incident down.

"I just think emotions run high," Weaver said.

"It's frustration, we get frustrated when things don't go our way as well."

Victory lifts Town up to fourth place in the League Two standings.