Lincoln City look to ease relegation worries in a crucial six-pointer against Morecambe

Lincoln City entertain Morecambe on Tuesday evening in a huge clash at the bottom of League One as the race for survival intensifies.

With just two points separating the two sides, the fixture presents an opportunity for the Shrimps to land a psychological blow in leapfrogging over the Imps albeit having played two games more.

Having been beaten by two goals on either side of half-time during the weekend’s defeat to automatic promotion hopefuls MK Dons, Lincoln are going into a crucial run of games that will make or break their season.

Beginning with Morecambe, the Imps will go on to face Doncaster Rovers, Fleetwood and Gillingham in the next few weeks, hopeful that a run of positive results will see them dismiss any real concerns of relegation.

Lincoln boss Michael Appleton knows that if his side ‘do the business’ against the sides around them, then they are more than capable of fighting against the sides above them.

“The reality is that if we do the business in these next five or six games, we know that we’re more than capable of beating the sides at the top of the table. So obviously that will put us in a really comfortable position.“

Following their second successive defeat, Lincoln will be hoping that time on the training field to bed in new signings will start to bear fruits. John Marquis has certainly hit the ground running, scoring three goals in consecutive games since joining on loan from Portsmouth.

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Appleton knows the fixture is a crucial one and sent a plea out to home supporters to not lose the influence of the home support and avoid his players having to perform in a toxic environment.

“The only thing I would say – and this is coming from a genuine place – if there’s any frustration on the night, please direct that towards me rather than the players”

There is no doubt that the levels of disappointment will be at unparalleled highs given the huge investment in season ticket sales, but with relegation a real possibility, the final third of the season is all about survival.

“The players are the ones who have got to perform, to have that calmness and composure at the right time, whether that’s in the opposition’s box or in our box.

“Any frustrations, I’m more than happy for them to come my way and let the players try and express themselves and show what they are capable of.”

Whilst Appleton has attempted to remedy the lack of goals in his side with an influx of signings in attacking positions, continued bad luck in the injury department continues to hamper team selection at the back.

Liam Bridcutt still remains out for the Imps whilst Adam Jackson’s injury problems continue. The influential central defender has a calf problem which is not showing up on investigation but is causing discomfort to perform.

“It’s presenting as a calf strain but not showing as a calf strain on the scan. Work that one out. It’s very frustrating.”

Joe Walsh, who has been a long term absentee for the best part of a calendar year, may be set for a return and due to the scale of Lincoln’s injury problems, could be thrown straight back into action.

With Lewis Montsma out for a sustained period and Tom Hopper just returning from injury, the disruption caused to the Imps’ season has not been lost on the Lincoln manager and is something that he is quite mindful of in the next recruitment window.

“I’ve been doing it for a while. At the end of the day, that’s football and you’ve got to be ruthless, you’ve got to make the right decisions for the football club.

“Players are not daft, they know, for us to be able to rely on them and trust them going forward, it works both ways a little bit.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t do that. It’s something that needs to be addressed between now and end of the season.”

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