MA: “Hopefully, over the next two or three years, we can be successful.”

New Dad Michael Appleton reflected on the start to the season giving his view on the road ahead, prior to the match up with Blackpool this coming Saturday.

Blackpool: They have spent quite a bit of money and a bit like us have so many new faces. MA knows their quality and is expecting a tough game accordingly. Blackpool are just waiting for that one moment or match to kick start their season. Our players are aware of that and it is up to them to make sure Blackpool’s season doesn’t begin on Saturday. Over time they will be right up there. Given their managers Anfield credentials, MA expects Blackpool to apply a Liverpool ethos and style to their play.

Imps players were given Mon/Tues off as recovery from the hard work. MA himself missed training on Wednesday due to his wife giving birth to baby Ned on Monday. Mrs Appleton had timed the birth to successfully avoid any fixture clashes. The update from David Kerslake was essentially the players were sharp and invigorated as they should be following their days off in conjunction to the good start to the season.

Player wise Joe Walsh is away on compassionate leave, Max Melbourne is still carrying a quad. injury occasioned during the Liverpool match. Callum Morton has had a second opinion on the injury which indicates an operation may not be required. Ultimately that is a decision for Callum and WBA, as is where he carries out his rehab. MA is open to Callum remaining with City during that period but must respect WBA on that issue also. MA was keen to highlight though how good a relationship he retains with WBA involving the decisions which will be made. Aaron Lewis is fully fit and would have been expected to feature against Mansfield in The EFL Trophy. Ironically he hopes that Aaron gets as much time with Wales this time as he did the last.

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Mansfield: Don’t expect any new faces before that match. With Callum being injured there is a possibility of a loan signing coming in before 16/10. That is dependant wholly on finances with one or two of our fringe players going out to enable any incoming fresh blood.

MA has always respected the trophy as two finals appearances will testify so he will seek to retain the balance between that respect for the competition whilst providing appropriate game time for those players that need it.

Start to the Season and Beyond: MA doesn’t feel there is any advantage to playing home or away in the current climate. There have been many changes since he took over including the risk of taking on young players in January, followed by COVID and then the completion of the squad overhaul during the Summer.

He is delighted with the team performances and results so far which is just reward for all the hard work the players have put in. However, make no mistake Imps are very much a work in progress and there will be challenges and dips along the way; something which the players are well briefed and prepared for.

The squad at the moment performance-wise is nowhere near MA wants them to be but that is no disrespect whatsoever to the players. It is merely a recognition of what a young group they are. He was very keen and greatly anticipated seeing how good this group will be in another 2 or 3 years time.

Writer: hulloutpost

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Prior to Joe Morrell, who was the last loanee to win the Player of the Season award?

If you haven’t already had a go at our quizzes, this is a great way to learn some random information about the Football Club, as well as helping us generate much-needed page views: Quiz No.1, Quiz No.2, Quiz No.3, Quiz No.4, Quiz No.5, Quiz No.6, Quiz No.7, Quiz No.8, Quiz No.9, Quiz No.10, Quiz No.11, Quiz No.12, Quiz No.13, Quiz No.14, Quiz No.15, Quiz No.16, Quiz No.17, Quiz No.18, Quiz No.19, Quiz No.20, Quiz No.21, Quiz No.22, Quiz No.23, Quiz No.24, Quiz No.25, Quiz No.26, Quiz No.27, Quiz No.28, Quiz No.29 and Quiz No.30.

MA: "Hopefully, over the next two or three years, we can be successful."https://t.co/5BSyPiBaBv #UTMP #ImpsAsOne #ProudToBeImps pic.twitter.com/Mbox2f5tEH

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln1) October 1, 2020