Lincoln City interim boss Tom Shaw has hailed the return from suspension of Danny Mandroiu as the Imps look to maintain their unbeaten run under the stand-in manager against Oxford United.
Mandroiu has had to sit and watch from the sidelines after he was served with a three-game ban for his red card against Burton Albion, with City stringing together two wins and a draw in his absence under Shaw, who knows the Irishman’s return will be a huge boost to the squad.
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“It’s huge [having Danny back],” he said. “I love Danny, he loves football, he loves trying to be creative. He’s a very talented player. Any club in our division, any head coach in our division would be delighted to have him available.”
Shaw wouldn’t confirm whether Mandroiu will be thrust straight back into the side from the off, but after three tough games in a week, the consensus among fans is that they’ll be expecting him to line-up on the pitch at kick-off.
Shaw added: “We’ll have a think about the starting XI and if he features, how that looks and we’ll rubber stamp that this afternoon [Monday]. But in his spell away from being available he’s been first class.
“He energises the group with his behaviour and his talent. He has trained very well. He constantly gives you reminders of his ability, so we feel really happy he’s available again.”
On Mandroiu’s apology to his teammates following his dismissal against the Brewers, Shaw said: “It takes a man to say sorry if he feels he made an error and cost people.
“He stepped up the end of the game and made his apology. If addressed well, like I thought it was, then you can move on pretty quickly.
“The lads have got a lot of respect for Danny and know how good he is and how important he is, and they’ll be just as happy as the supporters and staff that he’s available.”
Shaw also had positive words to say about the players who are on the fringes and struggling for game time, which involves the likes of TJ Eyoma, Dylan Duffy, Jaden Brown and Jordan Wright.
“We did work with some of the non-starters, whose attitude and application has been fantastic,” he explained. “They’re probably not getting what they want at the minute and not playing as much football as they would have liked, but their attitudes have been fantastic and they keep pushing. So we’ve done as much as we can in a quick turnaround and feel pretty content with what we’ve done.
“There’ll be things moving around in the coming games, it’s just so important to be mentally and physically ready when you’re in that position. It’s not a position that footballers like to be in, but they’ve carried themselves terrifically.
“I’m comfortable with them being ready if and when called upon.”
The Imps have been in the classroom since the 1-1 draw at Exeter, with Shaw impressed by their attitude and focus.
“We had a really good couple of video meetings – our analysis department are working so hard and we’re trying to maximise that time in the classroom with the players,” he said.
“The players seem very engaged with that, they’re contributing which is good to see and then after debriefing Saturday’s game, it was straight on to the focus for Oxford.
“The stuff we talked about in the classroom, we need to replicate on the grass.”
Shaw, who has been relishing his role as interim boss, also confirmed that frontman Tyler Walker is nearing a return to action and says the mood remains buoyant in the squad.
“Everything seems pretty good and Tyler Walker was back on the grass which is a great sight, but we have had a long week and there’s a bit of a narrative about that, but for me, it was a brilliant week,” he said.
“This group of players have gone from 16th to eighth really quickly and with that, they should have some confidence.”
He did warn though, that second-placed Oxford will represent a tough challenge tonight, although he is hopeful of another positive result.
“We’ve got to be very humble and go into this game with real humility because Oxford are a top, top side, but we will be bouncing into this fixture,” he went on.
“We will give it absolutely everything. We feel we’ve got a game plan that can hurt them, but we have got to respect their style. They have got a very aggressive style with the ball – we have got to deal with that, but we think we can have some good moments.
“Our conversations have been a little bit around what we can do a bit better with the ball. We’re trying to execute a style here that players like playing, coaches like coaching and the supporters can enjoy and get behind. With that come a few errors, a few twitchy moments here and there, but the staff will be demanding of that support when it goes wrong because it will at times and hopefully the supporters can back us up.
“We’re in a good place. We know where we are in this division and what we’re trying to fight for and achieve, but the progress of the last week is very, very pleasing.
“I’m delighted with the application of the players, they know it’s going to be a real challenging game, but an exciting one.
“What a place to play and watch football at the LNER Arena under the lights. We saw it last week – can we replicate that feeling or somewhere close to that feeling? It’s a brilliant arena for everybody involved, so hopefully we can put on a decent show.”
Writer: The Imposter
