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Grimsby will be looking to start off well, and winning builds confidence, which itself breeds success as the Iron found last season when they went unbeaten throughout the whole of pre-season.
A penalty shoot-out victory saw United finish victorious following a 0-0 draw in the same Lincolnshire Cup fixture this time last year.
The Mariners will hope to put one over their local rivals, thinking they have a point to prove, and will be looking to make the most of their home advantage.
But with so many new faces who could take a while to settle in, it may not be so easy.
Slade feels he already had the basis of a really good League Two side last season and on paper he seemed right. But whether they will overcome the losses of these experienced players is left open to question.
The Mariners actually finished eighteenth in League Two last season and some Grimsby fans feel Slade hasn’t proven that he can get the best out of what he has at his disposal.
Simon Ramsden and Justin Whittle seem a solid-enough backline, whilst the veteran John McDermott should provide enough quality at right fullback. Andy Parkinson is, on his day, one of the lower league’s better wingers.
The strikeforce of Michael Reddy and Martin Gritton seems a good partnership for the higher echelons of League Two as well. But the key for Slade is to fill in the gaps with enough quality and whether he has done that this pre-season is left open to debate.
In have come players of the stature of former United reserve Terry Barwick, young Stoke striker Jermaine Palmer, ex-Cambridge winger Tom Newey, former Nottingham Forest youth goalie John Lukic, Gretna striker Gary Cohen, Notts County midfielder Paul Bolland, and Swindon keeper Steven Mildenhall. Ex Iron utility player Wayne Graves is also on trial at Blundell Park, as is ex-Lincoln midfielder Ciaran Toner who was released following a training bust-up with a team-mate.
Whether they are good enough is open to question, on paper out of the new arrivals the ones with the highest pedigree are Bolland and Mildenhall. But the less well-known players could impress and become surprise packages at Blundell Park.
Whether they will be ultimately successful or not depends on how Grimsby start the season. Slade still hasn’t won over the majority of fans and with their financial troubles can’t afford the players that the likes of Wycombe Wanderers and Boston United are shelling out for.