Danny Cowley’s press conference was visibly relaxed whilst still remaining focused on the task in hand with the away trip to Crawley next up for The Imps.
Crawley: Their heavy defeat at Crewe was a freak result and little should be read into it. Crawley should have been two up after 35 mins. before conceding 5 goals either side of half time in what was a crazy game and Imps will be facing a wounded animal as a consequence. Ollie Palmer is somebody we know well and he has the pace, athleticism plus goal threat to go with it. Crawley have an excellent home record against top 8 sides and have already beaten City away so make no mistake whatsoever, this is a tough game. DC does not like travelling more than 2.5 to 3 hours on the day of a match so the squad will be setting off on Friday. DC joked he had told the lads there will be a thousand Imps fans there so we are currently 300 short. In the same jocular vein he pointed out that there isn’t much football left this season so it won’t be long before everyone is starved of action having to shop, garden and paint instead – so take the opportunity to watch The Imps while ‘you’ can. Seriously as always he would appreciate it if those that still had some money and time left could get down there as it really makes a difference.
Out Of Contract Players: There are several players out of contract and they will all be dealt with at the same time so that nobody feels less important than the others.
Transfer Matters: There is some debate about when the summer transfer window will close this year with DC ultimately wanting clarity whatever it may be. His preference would be for all business to have been completed prior to the opening game of the season so he can get on working with the finalised group. As always DC has been working on new players since the last window closed and the club have fortnightly recruitment meetings. It can be hard work as for the last three seasons it has not been clear which division Imps will be in so all eventualities have to be considered. DC responded to the speculation that City have a buyers option for Mark O’Hara. He outlined that MO has an A* attitude and work effort bringing energy and athleticism to the team. O’Hara looks forward regarding his passes and running; with an additional goal threat. The player brings something different to the side complementing the other central midfielders at the club.
Miscellaneous: DC was again asked specifically about the lack of game time for Brown, Roberts and Angol. He referenced his previous comments about how he sympathises that the players are not doing what they love but the club does it’s level best to keep them involved and ready. It is harder when the club has gone unbeaten this year but DC has a policy that anybody on loan at the club knows that they are not coming with a pre-condition that they will be selected. It is tough for those players but they know what a difference they can make to the squad as a whole. It is worth bearing in mind City still have one of the smallest squads in L2.
Injury wise, LF and JS are in contention without any detail being added by DC. He then went onto confirm that at this stage of the season the players aged over 30 and others having already played 35 games this season were on a different training pathway to the rest. Sports science suggests that more injuries start to kick in at this stage of the season and for the relevant player groups simply working them physically hard will not make them any fitter at this point. There is lots of other valuable training which can be carried out as an alternative.
Writer: hulloutpost
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DC: "We genuinely anticipate it to be our toughest game of the season.":https://t.co/rPzwU6FpuH#TownTeamTogether #Crawley #ImpsAsOne
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) March 22, 2019
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