Lincoln City manager Gary Simpson believes Saturday’s opponents Alfreton Town have done “exceptionally well” this season.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he pointed out that The Reds are in a strong league position and said that their boss Nicky Law is “a credit to the club”.
The Imps go into the game having won three of their last four matches and having beaten Aldershot Town 3-2 in their last game, Simpson was full of praise for his side.
“Any win is a good win and we’ve got to be pleased with the result and the performance. Individually and collectively I thought it was a good team performance. I’m highly delighted to have another three points on the board and long may it continue,” he said.
One of the players who scored on Saturday was on-loan defender Thierry Audel and it was announced earlier in the week that he will be extending his stay until the end of the season.
After revealing that Luke Foster will need to see a hip specialist, Simpson explained that the Frenchman’s presence means he has enough defensive options.
“I get on well with Crewe and I know them well. It was always in his mind that I was going to try and keep him until the end of the season. We have worked it out that the 93 days does cover us until the end of the season. He gives us a bit of pace and he’s a good player,” he continued.
Last time the Imps played Alfreton, the play-off hopefuls were on the end of a 4-1 thumping at the Gelder Group Sincil Bank Stadium, but Simpson acknowledged their achievements this season.
“We beat them 4-1, but to be honest at 2-1 they were on top and if they’d have got a goal, they’d have probably been favourites to go and win that game. They’ve done exceptionally well this season. They’ve won a hell of a lot of games,” he said.
“For them to be up there in the top three is a great achievement for Nicky [Law] and Russ [O’Neill]. We know it’ll be difficult and we know they’ll want to keep pushing on, but they’re in decent nick at the minute, but hopefully we can keep going,” he added.
Lincoln will be without Paul Farman for the match and the goalkeeper is likely to miss the rest of the season through injury. Ben Tomlinson and Charlie Adams are struggling with injuries of their own while Tom Miller is suspended.
Simpson explained that Jake Sheridan should be available following an illness and that Foster could play despite his hip problems. He added that Dan Gray will probably replace Miller at right-back.
The game kicks off at three o’clock on Saturday, March 8th at North Street.