Lincoln City manager Gary Simpson believes his side go into their match against Aldershot Town in a positive frame of mind.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he explained the game would be a clash of two of the division’s biggest clubs.
The Imps drew 1-1 with Chester on Saturday in their last match, but Simpson admitted his team rode their luck at times.
“I think we’ve had a few of these games where we could have won it, then they came into it and we could have lost it. Then we could have won it again,” he said.
He added: “At half time I said the only team that would beat us would be ourselves and it was proved.”
One player who will definitely miss the game is goalkeeper Paul Farman, but The Imps boss said he did not know how much longer he would be injured for.
On-loan Nick Townsend has been deputising and Simpson added: “He’s made two or three good saves on Saturday. He’s been good round the place, he’s trained really hard and worked really hard with Preecey [David Preece].”
There will also be at least one new name on the team sheet as on-loan striker Delano Sam-Yorke has been recalled by Cambridge.
The Shots would be above Lincoln in the Skrill Premier if they had not been deducted ten points at the start of the season, but their boss says he knows what the Hampshire side are capable of.
He continued: “They play very good football. They get it down and they’ve got pace. They’ve got a good centre forward in [Brett] Williams who’s scored a few goals for them and he scored again the other night.
“Put the ten points on them and the confidence that ten points would give them means they’d probably be higher up the table.”
Like The Imps, Andy Scott’s side drew their last match 1-1, but had to come from behind with ten men to rescue a point against Dartford.
Simpson added: “They had to stand up to it and they stood up to it. They went 1-0 down to a penalty when the keeper got sent off and went down to ten men as well.
“To stay in the game and keep playing, to have more possession and get an equaliser shows what a decent side they are. And Saturday is a game they’ll look at and think they’ll need to take something from it.”
The game kicks off at three o’clock on Saturday, March 1st at the Recreation Ground.