Lincoln City manager Gary Simpson has admitted that he is still trying to bolster his squad ahead of this weekend’s clash with Woking.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he claimed that he has asked Cambridge United if he can keep loan players Mitch Austin and Delano Sam-Yorke.
He added that Guinea-Bissau international Arnaud Mendy has been on trial at the Imps, but said sorting out a permanent deal would depend on how he does in the next couple of days.
The Imps go into the match with Garry Hill’s side on the back of a 3-1 defeat at Macclesfield, a game which saw Simpson return to Moss Rose.
“Yes [the better team won]. I think they’re better than us to be honest. They’re full of confidence at the moment. For the first twenty minutes we were at sixes and sevens and we were battling trying to stay in the game,” he said.
He added that their experienced players have helped their cause and after witnessing their brave FA Cup efforts against Sheffield Wednesday, he was full of praise for his old team.
Speaking about his current club, he continued: “The Ferriby game certainly did knock us a bit. The other night I can’t fault them for working, it was just the lack of game management.
“You’ve got to keep working hard, that’s all you can do. As I’ve said in the past, you don’t have to be the best players to get a result and you don’t have to be the best team to get a result.”
Simpson explained that he picked an attacking team in the week, pointing out the inclusions of Ben Tomlinson, Mitch Austin, Delano Sam-Yorke and Bohan Dixon for the game.
He added: “I’ll give what I’ve got. At the end of the day, whether they do it or they don’t do it, we’ve tried to play with what we’ve got available.
“People aren’t happy with how we’re trying to play. Whether we’re good enough to do it, we’re trying to do it.”
Both Lincoln and Woking go into the game level on points, but the hosts are one place ahead on goal difference and have played a game more.
The visitors have bought in young goalkeeper Mason Springthorpe this week and former Imp John Nutter could also make an appearance.
Simpson added: “I know they’ll get a couple [of players] back [for the match]. On paper they’re a good team, there’s no two ways about it. You go on these little runs, but whether it’s a good game for us, who knows?”
Defender Sean Newton was also present at the press conference and urged his side to get three points.
“They’re below us for a reason because they’re not performing. I don’t think we’re in a situation where we can’t have a go, we need to win and we need to win soon,” he said.
The game kicks off at three o’clock at the Gelder Group Sincil Bank Stadium on Saturday, January 25th.