Lincoln City manager Gary Simpson has urged his side to make the most of their home match against Gateshead tomorrow.
Speaking ahead of the game, he expressed his relief that the game has not had to be rearranged like their clash with Nuneaton has been.
If their opponents had won their FA Cup replay at home to Oxford it would have led to them playing Wrexham tonight instead of the League 2 side.
Simpson said: “Missing another home game would have been detrimental to us. The Nuneaton game has been shifted as well which is another revenue gone. It’s good on that score that we’re playing.
“[After not playing on Saturday], we need a game. It’s uncanny we have four games in ten days and then don’t have a game on the Saturday.”
The Imps were not in action at the weekend which has given them extra time to prepare for tomorrow.
“I think they needed a bit of a break, they’ve had a tough ten days to be fair to them with the travelling and everything else. They were in training on Saturday anyway. It’s just a matchday break, but we’ll have to see what happens on Tuesday,” Simpson added.
Opponents Gateshead have lost just once in their last eight league games and sit in 10th position, four points off the play-offs.
Within those games, they have scored 17 goals and James Marwood is their top scorer. Their squad also features former Imps striker Colin Larkin.
Simpson explained: “Since he [manager Gary Mills] has gone in they’ve picked up. Looking at the player’s that they’ve signed in the summer the people there thought they’d be up there challenging. It was probably a surprise that they got off to such a bad start.
“Since he’s come in they’ve obviously got going. If anybody saw the game against Oxford they can keep the ball, they can pass it very well and they’ve been on a great run.
“They come in off the back of a defeat but they were 2-0 up at Oxford and could have beaten them. In terms of possession they were the better team the other night. On any given day, anybody can beat anybody and it’s up to us to get on the front foot and force the issue because we’re at home.”
Jon Nolan and Dan Gray are both rated as “fifty-fifty” by their manager, but he confirmed that Danny Rowe and Conner Robinson are both back in training.
Tomorrow could be the last time Chris Sharp plays in Lincoln colours, but Simpson revealed that he has been trying to keep the striker.
“We’re just negotiating. At the moment it’s about the money that we’ve got to pay. If it’s something we can do then we’ll try and keep him. Until I hear any more he’s here for tomorrow night’s game,” he said.
“The kid wants to stay, he’s desperate to stay and we’ll try to do something with him. It’s not as though it’s dead in the water. We’d like the lad to stay but that’s up to them.”
The game kicks off at 7.45 tomorrow night at the Gelder Group Sincil Bank Stadium.