ANTHONY O’Connor insists City are showing League Two they are no “big-time Charlies”.

James Hanson ensured his old club had to settle for another draw in Saturday’s 1-1 stalemate at Grimsby.

But O’Connor felt the way City stood up to physical opponents proves they won’t wilt in the battle to come.

He said: “Last season we would have probably lost that game.

“It was a tough game in very windy conditions. Grimsby know what they do and the big man Hanson is a handful up front.

“You have to put yourself up against different types of strikers. It’s going to be like that throughout the season.

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“But that’s your job as a defender, heading the ball and getting your body in the way of shots.

“it’s a cliché but we are a cup final for a lot of teams, especially when they come to Valley Parade and play at a big stadium.

“They are going to think, ‘let’s put these big-time Charlies in their place’. These are the things they’ll be saying.

“But we’re level-headed and know what we’ve got to do. We must be bang at it every week and won’t be taking anyone in the league for granted.

“Last week was a different test against a team who sat in and said, ‘break us down’.

“This time we were up against someone who were quite direct and tried to bully us a bit. I thought we stuck to the test well.”

O’Connor has sensed a more professional approach at the club since relegation from the start of pre-season.

“You walked into the training ground and could see it had been fully painted and the floor was done,” added the centre half.

“Little things like that make a difference. The gaffer mentioned from day one that standards were now going to be right up there.

“It’s been an upwards curve since we came back.

“We worked really hard in the pre-season and now it’s the business stuff of putting points on the board.

“We’re disappointed that we drew again and that’s the winning mentality that the gaffer has instilled in us. But it’s another point on the board and we’ll look to build momentum.”

Paudie O’Connor was on the bench at Blundell Park and could be involved in the Carabao Cup tie with Preston tomorrow. But Anthony O’Connor is happy to fight for his place.

“It’s good to have competition. Paudie was obviously here last season and now he’s signed permanently for us he’ll be pushing to get into the team.

“Tyler (French) as well looks like he has all the potential in the world. It’s up to us to be on our game every week.

“But it’s going to be a squad effort throughout the season."