Tendayi Darikwa said that he was disappointed that Lincoln City missed out on the play-off spots this season, but is hopeful the Imps can kick-on and try again next year.
Lincoln ended their season with a 2-0 loss to an already-promoted Wrexham AFC side, with goals coming from Elliot Lee and Ryan Longman at the LNER Stadium.
Michael Skubala’s side finished the season in 11th place in Sky Bet League One, cementing themselves once again as a top-half team in the third tier of English football.
Good performance but unfavourable result
Skubala’s men started the game brightly but were lacking a clinical finish, James Collins and Reeco Hackett both coming close to breaking the deadlock in the first-half.
The Imps would be punished for this in the second-half as their Welsh opponents showed their class, scoring two goals swiftly after the restart, the first of which being their first shot on target of the game.
Darikwa said: “I thought in the first half we were probably the better team, we didn’t manage to get the goal which I thought we deserved.
“They are a good team, they’ve been promoted and in the second half they showed why.”
A proud moment for Tendayi Darikwa:
After the game Lincoln had their end of season awards, in which Darikwa swooped up three trophies, being named the teams Player of the Season, Away Player of the Season and 617 Squadron Player of the Season.
When asked how pleased he was to have gained such recognition, Darikwa said: “It’s a proud moment for myself, I’ve worked hard this season.
“I’ve gone on the pitch and done my best, I tried to give 100% every week so I’m grateful for the support this season.”
Assessing Lincoln City’s season:
The Imps have now finished in the top half two years running, missing out on the play-offs on the final day of last season and finishing 11th this term.
When asked how the season has matched up with his overall goals set out at the start of the season, Darikwa said: “I’m a bit disappointed. I want to compete, I want to be getting promotion which we haven’t done this season.
“Ultimately after 46 games you finish where you deserve and we will reflect on it in the summer.”
Looking ahead to 2025/26:
Next season will mark Lincoln’s seventh consecutive season in League One as they will again look to climb into the play-offs next term.
When asked how he thinks the team builds on this season to finish higher next year, Darikwa said: “More hard work, we need to realise where we went wrong this season and work hard through pre-season, then hopefully we can kick-on next year.”