Michael Appleton provided a straight-talking, authoritative press conference ahead of the AFC Wimbledon clash on Saturday.
Injury Situation: Lee Frecklington has trained fully this week which is a positive but it will still be some time before he is part of the squad. Bossie is still quite a while away from a return. Ben Coker has commenced some (tentative) non-contact training with the coaches/medical team.
Current Loan Players: Most of the loan deals (not specified) have January options but there have only been tentative talks with parent clubs at this stage. It will be the end of November before full consideration is given to reviewing the loans beyond January.
The State of Play: There are 7 or 8 teams that will be looking to break away up to Christmas. The L1 standard is such a step up with finances at the level not thought of a few years ago. Imps are more difficult to beat now and whilst the chances continue to be created MA is not worried about the lack of goals. In the first half at Portsmouth Imps created 3 or 4 good opportunities (less so in the second half). It is a matter of being more clinical and in the box. Players are still getting into good areas and work continues on aggressively attacking the near post. Once a goal or two go in the confidence will quickly return.
Wimbledon: MA was really frustrated at not having the Bolton game in front of a full house to build on a decent performance at Portsmouth – he was pumped and ready for the game. MA took himself away to watch a match (Rotherham) as a reaction to that frustration. He expects the players to feel the same. With the league table as it is MA sees the Wimbledon match as a big game and an opportunity to put clear distance between the two sides which hopefully will be taken. The Wimbledon set up hasn’t changed much since the recent change of manager with the only perceptible difference being a slightly higher press. Wimbledon play a compact game looking to quickly get into a 5 at the back when the ball is turned over. They do have lively wing-backs aiming to start brightly and dominate the opposition on home soil. MA expects a tight game, not unlike Shrewsbury, and has prepared the players to win ‘it’ in the 95th minute if necessary.
Writer: hulloutpost
https://www.facebook.com/bbclincolnshiresport/videos/404346540245256
MA: "We're still getting into good areas, which is the most important thing."https://t.co/Xv3T4ErXsG#AFCW #ImpsAsOne #ProudToBeImps
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) October 31, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/2495871487115748
