Mark Kennedy looked forward to welcoming Milton Keynes Dons for the midweek fixture and provided his thoughts on how he would like to shape the squad going forward.
You can discuss what Mark Kennedy has said ahead of this match HERE, as well as get involved with our pre-match threads: Post your Score Predictions, discuss the Starting XI, and Predict The Attendance.
NEW QUIZ: Milton Keynes Dons (h): Last Time At Sincil Bank: We have also published a quiz about the last time the two sides met at Sincil Bank, which can be found HERE, or at the bottom of the page!
Milton Keynes Dons: Ben House was ill over the weekend and it will be a case of monitoring how he is before making a decision on his fitness. Danny Mandroiu has been training and will be available for selection.
It is not clear from recent games how Milton Keynes will set up. In spite of conceding 11 goals in the last 3 games, MK is not swayed by that. Those opponents have been big teams and MK had a very good January before that. As an opponent they are a potent threat, being able to call upon good attacking options via their strikers and wingers.
“We’ll have to be at our absolute best to win”.
Although it is not something MK has discussed with the group, at the back of his mind MK sees the game (effectively in hand) as an opportunity to really push the Imps up the table notwithstanding that he does not get side-tracked by the table.
“I think we’re in a really good place and I think we’re going forward. I think we’ve made huge strides from where we were at the start of the season and I think we’re building something really positive at Lincoln……The bottom line is I think we’re in a really healthy position”.
One Problematic Issue This Season: At times through injury/suspension the lack of substitutes available from the bench has meant the squad has been really stretched which has been an Achilles heel. That’s not good, but MK concentrates on the resources open to him. All said, the points total accrued is a reflection of the good work from a young squad in spite of not being able to make big changes from the bench.
MK reflected that the Imps had remained consistent throughout the season with only 7 defeats in 31 games and only 1 in the last 10 (matches), with no back to back defeats. The team are very difficult to beat.
“We’ve got a good group, a positive group, a talented group”, with the limited options giving people game opportunities.
In an Ideal World: MK is of a mind that he would like to move away from a reliance on loan players. The likes of A+ loans in the shape of Morgan Rogers and Brennan Johnson are exceptions, not normality and that cannot be relied upon every year. Another problematic side effect of loan players is the dangers of them not being available for 8 to 10 games a season due to their tendency to arrive late in the respective transfer windows.
“I would be a lot more comfortable if we had our players instead of relying on other players”.
MK does though remain respectful of the club position and model and sometimes it is not possible to just go out and buy 10 or 15 players when the money is not physically there. Lincoln City are an incredibly well run club (easily one of the best in the league) being highly sustainable due to having very bright people on the board and in Clive, a superb owner.
MK reflected that he is loving every minute of his time at Lincoln and long may it continue. He put that down to his relationship with Clive, the board and the likes of Liam Scully.
Writer: hulloutpost
