Tom Shaw seems to have two games left in his role as Lincoln City’s interim head coach after the club revealed they were looking to appoint Mark Kennedy’s successor ‘after the Port Vale game’, on Saturday.
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You can discuss what Tom Shaw has said ahead of this match here, as well as get involved with many other topics on our 100% Imps forum!
Whether Shaw will be the man tasked of leading the Imps on a permanent basis remains to be seen, although it is looking increasingly unlikely after two successive home defeats.
And after being dumped out of the FA Cup by League Two side Morecambe at the weekend, the BSM Trophy represents City’s last hope of a cup run and they entertain Notts County at Sincil Bank on Tuesday night, in front of what is expected to be a rather sparse crowd.
For Shaw, this is presumably the last few days where he can implement his ideas, his methods, his way of doing things as he attempts to restore some pride into a club that has lost its way of late, following defeats to Oxford and the Shrimps.
“Nothing changes from what we we’ve been doing from the first morning, where myself and the staff took the temporary reign,” said Shaw.
“We’ve just tried to keep the players focussed on the next fixture. We’ve done as much prep, in as much detail as we possibly can for each game – that’s been the same for Notts County and it’ll be the same for Port Vale.
“With so many games in a in a short spell, there’s not been too much else to think about really, we’ve just been reflecting and then previewing the next fixture, so that process will stay the same.
“All the staff and players have been brilliant within that process, very consistent whether we’ve had a great night or a not so good night, so that will continue during the next five or six days.”
This fixture will be Lincoln’s ninth game in 31 days and Shaw is expected to rest as many first-teamers as possible, with many looking to be running on empty after a gruelling schedule. Jordan Wright, TJ Eyoma, Jaden Brown, Dylan Duffy, Jovan Makama and Oisin Gallagher are all expected to start, with the interim boss revealing that changes are afoot.
“There’ll be some players get some much-needed game time for themselves and for the group, but we are very keen to progress in the competition,” Shaw went on.
“We’ve done all our work on County, we know them pretty well from our earlier encounter in the season. They’re a very good side, with a top coach who’s got a really exciting brand so we’ve done our work on how we can stop that and and hurt them when we have it, but the squad will be used over the next period.
“The players have conducted themselves really well, carried themselves through any disappointment really well and they deserve an opportunity, so hopefully they’ll be in a good frame of mind come tomorrow evening and on Saturday.”
Lincoln won 2-0 at Notts County in a League Cup tie back in early August, with goals from Sean Roughan and Lasse Sorensen, and while the Magpies have lost both games in the Trophy (2-1 to both Wolves Under-21s and Derby), Shaw knows it could be a tough encounter against a side flying high in League Two.
He said: “It will be interesting to see what their team sheet reads like. We know they’ve got some very talented players and they’re a really good side who have got into a habit of winning.
“It’s a difficult fixture and we’ll definitely put a side out we feel is more than capable of winning the game.
“Our game plan is to try and win the match and win it doing the things we’ve done over recent games. It was obviously a frustrating day on Saturday, but some of the tactical stuff we tried to implement was there for everybody to see, so we’ll be looking to grow and evolve and keep trying to work on and improve.”
Shaw also revealed that Roughan is not quite ready to make his return from injury, adding: “Sean will be struggling for tomorrow, but the MRI scan is pretty positive. We’re pleased with that news and he’s in very capable hands with the medical team and they’ll get back him back as soon as possible.”
Writer: The Imposter
Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!
Tom Shaw: "We've just tried to keep the players focussed on the next fixture."https://t.co/oFaRuFtYPf#WeAreImps #Notts #EFLTrophy
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) November 6, 2023
