The sudden collapse of ITV Digital had left the club with debts of over £2 million, £700,000 of which was owed to the Inland Revenue and a further substantial amount to their bankers, Lloyds Bank. The collapse had seen a lot of the smaller clubs playing in the second tier of English football struggle to make ends meet. Coupled with this, it meant first-team players such as Danny Coyne and Georges Santos moved on to other clubs. For the new season, the club also had to supply its own kits following the closure of long serving kit suppliers Avec Sportswear. Grimsby Town played the season using the brand "Grimsby Town Sports" before a lucrative three-year deal with Nike was signed in April 2004. Groves dabbled in the transfer market and brought in a batch of new signings, notably Jason Crowe and Des Hamilton, Aidan Davison and Tony Crane. His dealings saw the Mariners boast a large squad for the 2003–04 campaign but despite this, Groves soon found his men sliding down the league, finding themselves involved in a relegation scrap with Sheffield Wednesday as in the previous season.