MA: “We’re so far away from where I want to be.”

Michael Appleton breezed through the pre-match press conference ahead of the Friday night match up with Rotherham United.

Southend Game: Imps didn’t run, sprint, press hard enough; that’s a mindset. City not ‘at it’ and got punished accordingly.

Rotherham: Difficult team to play against. They are strong, physical, athletic, having pacey wingers and strikers that are doing well. They are way ahead of Lincoln in terms of development. MA likes to think there will be a role reversal of the performance put in v Southend. He likes playing under lights as MA feels it brings out more energy from the players and tends to have a cup tie atmosphere. Generally, Imps have acquitted themselves playing well at home on the whole.

Who Are The League One Managers? No.18: Paul Warne (Rotherham United)

Anthony Scully: It was vital to get AS ‘in’ especially in light of losing Tyler Walker. MA knows the player well through his under 23’s experience. He may be a young kid but AS has a man’s body. He plays very aggressively (the other players will tell you that after a couple of days in training) which MA likes. AS trains every day like it is a match situation which is very rare in players. AS can play as a 9, 10 or even 7 where he comes off the line. He scores goals and MA is glad to have him.

Long Term Goal: The players will get better and better, improving as individuals at different stages in time. Imps are still so far away from where MA wants to be so currently ‘we’ need to stay strong as a unit remain resolute, competitive and fight hard. For the remainder of the season, MA is looking for progression, for things to integrate, then have a good summer. Whether people like to hear it or not the single most important thing for Lincoln after a 21-year absence from this level is for the club to remain in L1 this year. It may sound mental but what MA wants to do is build a team that not only is good enough for promotion to The Championship and once it gets there is capable of competing. There is no point getting to The Championship and coming straight back down. That process takes time. Due to the competitiveness of The Championship, there are ever bigger clubs dropping down into L1 but MA sees a couple of clubs every year overachieving. He wants Lincoln to be one of those clubs and this time next year for Imps looking to push on like Rotherham, having lots to play for.

As an aside MA confirmed that Michael Bostwick will not be ready for the Rotherham game.

Writer: hulloutpost

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MA: "We're so far away from where I want to be.":https://t.co/cktcOlruWj#ImpsAsOne #ProudToBeImps #RUFC

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