Ahead of the important midweek clash with Ipswich Town, Michael Appleton reflected on the positives that came out of the Crewe fixture.
You can discuss what Michael Appleton said earlier today HERE, as well as many other topics on our 100% Imps forum! We have also published a Lincoln City v Ipswich Town Quiz, which can be found just below the summary. Every page view helps raise money for Lincoln City Football Club!
Crewe: “To lose back to back games you’re looking for a response of some kind. Yeah, I thought the performance was excellent but obviously the result helps”.
MA drew attention to having focussed a lot of pre-match work on the psychological side of the game, due to the defeats sustained going into the Crewe fixture.
Lincoln started the game with more focus, intensity and aggression than seen in recent games and once ahead, the clean sheet then comes into mind. It’s no coincidence that having started well, ‘we’ went ahead; then you have a group of players that have both ability and something to hold onto.
There had been spells like that in the preceding matches but not sustained for long enough. That level has to be maintained for the remainder of the season to continue gleaning points.
Injury Update: Max Sanders picked up a hamstring injury, Harry Anderson a thigh injury just before the Crewe game. Neither are long term injuries but it is equally frustrating for the players and MA.
On the number of injuries accrued this season MA had this to say. “Hopefully we can come out of it before the end of the season and by the time we get into those last half a dozen games or so we’re a little bit closer to our full quota”.
Ipswich Town: It’s about keeping the focus on us and hitting the targets we set ourselves; something we have done for almost the whole of the season. Perhaps recently there was maybe a slight case of looking at the table, hence the aforementioned focus on psychological prep. for Crewe.
MA recognised the importance of the Ipswich clash. “If you can’t win against the sides around you, it’s important not to lose…….. It is an important game. The players are not stupid; they’re quite intelligent people. They realise a really positive result on Tuesday night could go a long way to giving us the confidence and belief that we need for the remainder of the season”
MA felt Lincoln played well versus Ipswich last season and ‘we’ let them off the hook a bit. Regarding Paul Cook, “They’ve got a top-class manager in charge now”.
Under Paul Lambert, MA thought Ipswich followed a slower build-up to their game. Under ‘Cooky’ he expects to see parallels between Ipswich and his own team. They will stay play football but look to get forward more quickly.
Writer: hulloutpost
Have a go at our Lincoln City v Ipswich Town Quiz below:
Michael Appleton: "If you can't win against the sides around you, it's important not to lose."https://t.co/Rkx6PKSYV7#ITFC #ImpsAsOne #ProudToBeImps pic.twitter.com/HlrpV7K4nV
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) March 8, 2021
