Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley says his side will need to be at their best if they’re to beat Maidstone on Saturday.
The Imps are now 12 games unbeaten and have the opportunity to extend that further as they host 18th-placed Maidstone this weekend, but Cowley is aware of the challenge ahead.
He said: “Maidstone are good on the counter attack with lots of pace and we’ll have to be at the top of our game if we want to get on the right side of it.”
“This year they’ve had some good wins; they beat Chester, Torquay, North Ferriby, and Boreham Wood away so they’re a good team away from home,” he said.
The manager says he won’t be underestimating anyone.
He said: “We’re very respectful of this league. We know there’s no easy games so we’ve got to be right on our levels if we’re going to be successful.”
“It’s about making sure that mentally we’re in the right place and that we don’t get carried away with ourselves or think that we’re better than we are.”
Cowley also praised Maidstone manager Jay Saunders, who has led the club to three promotions in the past four seasons.
“He’s a really good guy and he’s done a fantastic job there,” he said.
“Maidstone are a big club in the Kent area, with a big crowd, and a big expectation, and he’s managed to cope with all of that.”
And Cowley believes the York win, as well as the Maidstone and Wrexham fixtures could be vital in the club’s progression.
He said: “If we can accumulate the points we want to out of those three games we give ourselves a right, in this moment, to look above ourselves rather than below.”
But the manager says there’s always room for improvement.
“We want to keep driving our standards,” insisted Cowley. “We were pleased with about 80 minutes on Tuesday but we still conceded a sloppy goal.”
And Cowley understands how much the club means to the supporters and the dedication they put in.
“We can feel the responsibility of their dreams because we know they’re believing in us now and we understand that,” he said.
“We’re going to really take as much care as we can to keep preparing as best as we possibly can so we can keep their dreams intact.”
“That’s what we’re living at the moment; real focus, really determined day in-day out, best version of ourselves and if we do that we can’t do anymore.