Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley is calling on his side’s supporters to be even noisier at Sincil Bank today as the Imps look to cause an historic FA Cup upset.
The Imps, currently top of the National League, host Championship table-toppers Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup and Cowley is hoping the fans can help make the difference.
“We’re hoping that our crowd will be our 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and maybe 16th man because we won’t do it without them, that’s for sure,” Cowley said.
“We’ve got an amazing connection with the supporters and we’re going to crank it right up on Saturday and we’re going to try to play at an intensity that maybe we haven’t played at yet this season and I’m hoping that they might be able to find a noise level that they haven’t quite got to this season.
He continued: “I don’t know many fans that make as much noise as ours, and are as passionate and care as much about the club as our supporters do.
“We’re all in it together. Nobody’s more important than anyone else. It doesn’t matter if you’re the tea lady or the chairman, a player or a supporter – we’re all as important as each other.
“We’re all human beings and we know our major strength at this football club is our togetherness and our spirit, and our unity. “
Cowley believes the atmosphere created by the Sincil Bank faithful could catch Chris Hughton’s Seagulls off-guard.
“Brighton will be used to playing in front of big crowds in big arenas, but I’m not sure they’ll be used to the intensity and the noise our supporters can generate,” he said.
“We just ask them to bring the best version of themselves, and we’ll certainly be trying to do the same on the pitch.
“If we all bring our A-game, you never know in the FA Cup.”
Saturday’s game is a sell-out and Cowley admits he’s in awe of the ever-growing support.
“It’s been unbelievable,” he said. “People queueing through the night for the last ticket. Every time I’ve got to the ground they’re here and queueing. “
“It’s not just the fact that they’re standing out in the freezing cold, but they’re doing it with a smile on their face, and we as a group are aware of that.
“We carry that responsibility with us and I think it’s a good responsibility to carry with us because we know how much it means to Lincoln City, this cup run.
The manager is relishing the challenge Brighton will pose as the club compete in the fourth round of the competition for the first time in 41 years.
“I’m really proud of my players that they’ve managed to get this far,” insisted Cowley.
“This will be our seventh game in the FA Cup and, as ironic as it sounds, we’ll probably play more games than the eventual winners.
“We said going into the Ipswich game that we’d need to climb a mountain to overcome that challenge. Well, this is probably like getting to the Moon for us. It’s going to be a tough ask.”
Cowley is hoping to have Sam Habergham, who was forced to miss out on playing in the defeat at Barrow on Tuesday due to injury, fit and ready for the game against Brighton.
“It’s a contact injury that he’s got – just some swelling around the area and we’re just trying our very best to get the swelling down,” said Cowley.
“Sam’s such an important player to us.”
Cowley also revealed that he could be bringing in some new signings at the beginning of next week.
“Things have opened up in the last 48 hours so things have certainly moved in the right direction, which is good because the games are coming thick and fast and we would like reinforcements,” Cowley admitted.
“Nothing finalised yet, but certainly a lot closer than we have been and some positive ones.”