MK: “My biggest learning actually is understanding what the league requires.”

Ahead of The Good Friday clash with Cheltenham, Mark Kennedy outlined the valuable learning and experience he has gleaned throughout his inaugural League One campaign.

You can discuss what Mark Kennedy has said ahead of this match HERE, as well as get involved with our Lincoln City v Cheltenham Town Match Thread.

Lewis Montsma: Confirmation of Lewis’ latest knee injury is a real bitter blow for Lewis and the club. It is really important that Lewis spends time with his family and has been allowed to return to Holland so he can have the support of them and friends to help with the process of recovery.

Cheltenham: MK had no other fresh injuries to report but did mention Joe Walsh has now returned to training and he will be getting an update on the progress of TJ Eyoma shortly.

Eight games in a month during April will be a tough act for everyone but preparation for games this week namely Friday – Monday is no different to Saturday – Tuesday. League One has so many good teams within it and it will only get tougher next year. Cheltenham are on a really good run of results which had been preceded by a really bad run. That only serves to show the nature of the league and how quickly things can change. MK knows quite a few of the people involved at Cheltenham and a fantastic job is being done there.

“The Key is to always follow up the good results with another positive performance and a good result”

Summer Transfer Strategy: MK is very clear what he wants to do with the squad. If not (by now) he would either be suffering from brain fog or not very good at his job. There is an element of it being a waiting game and the summer cannot be predicted as there will be constant changes and evolving circumstances, but many hours with more to come have been dedicated to recruitment meetings.

“We’re quite clear on what we want to do and the direction we want to go in”.

The club had demonstrated a successful pre-existing recruitment policy prior to the arrival of MK last summer. Given that, and how far down the road the signing processes were, he was in a position to agree to the players being signed at that time. The players that came in have done really well and MK is pleased with their performances. Naturally, though MK is involved more this time around.

“This window will be completely different for sure because we’ll get first say, last say on all the players”.

Significant Learning for MK: Arriving at the club last year MK knew what he wanted but not knowing the league inside out did not know what to expect in the earlier fixtures; contrast now with knowing exactly what to expect for example going into the Sheffield Wednesday fixture. Given that there has been a lot of change within the club (e.g. back room staff included) and everybody was new, it has been a fascinating experience to learn from one another.

“My biggest learning actually is understanding what the league requires”. MK is now able to judge the differences between the league below and the league above, bringing the knowledge of what is required for the level plus what is needed to bridge the gap between the different leagues.

MK referenced Adam Jackson as an excellent example of what he meant. AJ is somebody who is incredible ‘in the air’, keeps his game simple whilst lacking mobility and pace. However, it has become apparent that not only is he a really good player he is actually an outstanding League One defender and a tremendous fit for the level. It personifies the position that at the start of the season if MK had thought he wanted something different then he would have got that completely wrong.

“What I thought looked good maybe doesn’t look good; and what I thought maybe doesn’t look good is actually very, very good. So my understanding of the league is definitely a lot better”.

Writer: hulloutpost

MK: "My biggest learning actually is understanding what the league requires."https://t.co/0nrKIdOZju#ImpsAsOne #WeAreImps #CTFC

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) April 7, 2023