Lincoln City Women’s manager Lee Mitchell is keen to hit the ground running as his side return from the winter break with a crunch game.
He said: “What we do in the next two to three weeks will determine how the rest of this season goes, it will be massive for us. It’s the difference between being six points clear or six points further back.”
The Imps start the new year with a trip to Solihull as they face Leafield Athletic, who sit just four points behind Lee Mitchell’s side and in the relegation zone.
He said: “If we don’t take those chances and they take the three points then we are in a real scrap. Mentally it changes things for the players, so it’s a huge game. I think every game from now until the end of the season is potentially a big one.”
Lee believes his side will be able to call upon their experience of escaping relegation last season as they look to repeat the same feat in this campaign.
“We’ve got players who have been with us for a few years now… I think that experience is invaluable and that’s a good position for us to be in because we’ve been there before while some of these other teams haven’t,” he said.
Lee’s side sit eighth in the FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands, just four points clear of the drop.
“We pinpoint games that we should be picking up points from and we have a really good start to the year in terms of games we should be looking to pick up points from. So, we’ve got to make the most of it and if we don’t it’s only going to pile the pressure on, and tougher games are to come,” he said.
His side return from the mid-season break with a trip of Leafield, who sit in the first relegation spot, before they welcome Leek Town, who are just one point behind Lincoln.
Lee said: “If we put six points on the board from those two games and you’re up and running really, it changes your mentality overall.”
He added: “It could put us in a solid mid-table position, or just above, in that fight for the top five, or it could just as easy put us in the bottom two and we’re in a real scrap then.”
In the twelve team league just five points separate the bottom five teams, from Lincoln in ninth to Sheffield FC at the foot of the table. Two of those five teams will face the dreaded drop.
Lee said: “It’s one of them where we are in a situation with a game or two in hand, but you need to take those chances really because then you start to put some real daylight between you and those teams at the bottom.”
The winter break and weather enforced postponements has meant an extended period without any competitive football for the Imps’ women’s team.
“It’s always nice to have a break, for staff and for players. The players haven’t played a game for seven weeks now competitively, and we’re not the only team in the league with the weather and everything else,” he said.
He added: “The players come back pretty refreshed and it’s like they come back forgetting what happened before because when you’re going week to week it starts to weigh on you a little bit. So, I’m expecting the players to come in upbeat and ready to go, and I think we’ll see some fresh legs.”
Lincoln City Women’s travel to Leafield Athletic on Sunday, January 7, before the visit of Leek Town just seven days later.