With the rumour mill quietly grinding away, each day sees new names being thrown into the mix for the vacant manager’s position at Sincil Bank.
For this reason alone you could forgive the fans for being distracted this weekend.
However, caretaker manager Scott Lindsey, who has already ruled himself out of the running for the job, has refused to let this get in the way of Lincoln’s clash with Macclesfield Town this Saturday.
He said: “I completely switch off and I think I have got to remain focused. It’s important that I do that and make sure we are organised and are fully professional. The players need to remain focused on getting a result.”
This is also a sentiment shared by a player who has been City’s most consistent performer this season, goalkeeper Joe Anyon.
“The lads are just interested in who it is going to be and when. Scott has been a revelation and we need to keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully we’ll get a goal. It’s about time we started getting results,” Anyon said.
Macclesfield are currently sitting 16th in the table – four points and six places above the Imps. One area in which Lindsey believes the team has to be solid this weekend is through the final third and defending set-pieces.
He said: “They’re a side who are strong on set pieces. They scored two from corners last weekend and one from a throw-in on Tuesday. We’re going to have to be switched on and we’re going to know we’ve been in a battle.
“We will really have to earn our corn on Saturday. Set-pieces are a bit of an issue at both ends of the field for us. Last weekend against Southend, we hit the woodwork and we had one cleared off the line. We are looking dangerous but it is that next bit – putting it in the back of the net and defensively we need to be switched on.”
Besides the long-term injuries, club physio Michael Wait has only had to keep an eye on two players for the upcoming match. Anyon was replaced last weekend by the club’s goalkeeping coach, Paul Musselwhite after the former Port Vale man received a knock in the second half during the 1-0 defeat away to Southend. Drewe Broughton was also on the physio table this week after suffering a dead leg against Southend.
Commenting on the injury situation at Sincil Bank, Lindsey said: “We’ll have a look at Joe again today but hopefully he should be okay for Saturday. Drewe has got a dead leg and it looks like he will miss out with that.”
The newest addition to the club, Adifane Noussoura played his first game for the Imps in the mid-week 1-1 draw against Scunthorpe United. However, Lindsey will not hand him his first league appearance this weekend.
“Adi still needs a bit more playing time. He struggled towards the end and I think it would be a long shout to put him on the bench. He probably needs two or three more games under his belt before we can start considering him,” Lindsey said.
In an attempt to boost local support for the Imps, children under the age of 16 can get into the match on Saturday for just £1. The ‘Kids for a Quid’ initiative is being run alongside a fun day before the match at the training facilities surrounding Sincil Bank. Lindsey believes the improved attendance should have a positive effect on the team.
He said: “The more fans that are there, the more likelihood there is that we will perform. It’s important that we get the fans behind us. On Saturday we had a good following down in Southend and I thought they supported us really well. The players do recognise that when they’re playing.”
Everyone surrounding the team will be hoping City can record their first points since the 1-0 home win against Barnet at the beginning of last month. Furthermore, as one of the only teams in the country yet to score more than one goal in a game this season, the caretaker boss will want to see what could be his final game in charge of City end in style.
The Linc’s prediction: Imps 1 – 2 Macclesfield