A 2-0 home loss to your fiercest rivals is not normally followed by an upbeat message from the manager, but Knill insisted he had got everything he wanted out of the game.
"I was pleased with how we moved and our attitude. It is pre-season and we are working on a new formation," he told the club's official website.
"The majority of the game was fairly comfortable. We moved the ball really well at times.
"We were a little unlucky in front of goal but the goals bit is the hardest part. We are good at getting from one end of the pitch to the other and now we have just got to work harder at putting it in the back of the net.”
Grimsby co-manager Rob Scott was pleased his side followed their gameplan perfectly.
"We're pleased in the respect that what we've been working on in training came out in the game," he said.
"We were nice and solid, and we were compact. We were very happy with the performance – and with the fact that they carried out what they've been working on the training field in the last week or so."