This transfer window is likely to be one of the most important of recent years, with new manager Michael Appleton looking to inject some energy into his flagging side.
They’ve tumbled from the top three to the bottom six in double-quick time since the departure of manager Danny Cowley and former Oxford boss Appleton is the man left to pick up the broken pieces.
In order to stamp some authority on the side, he’s going to be busy in January, with a number of new faces expected at Sincil Bank. Head of football, Jez George, has told Lincolnshire Live that having a man of Appleton’s reputation in the hot seat is helping when it comes to loaning in young, exciting players.
“One of Michael’s qualities is not just his contacts, but his ability to develop players. That is known throughout football so when you’re talking to big clubs about potentially allowing their player to come to you, that’s a big plus.”
George admitted that there is a need to be respectful to the current players, despite the clamour for an injection of something new over the winter window.
“It’s important to be respectful to the players in the squad at the moment. But for a manager who has arrived outside of a transfer window, the next few windows are going to be quite important as he looks to put his stamp on the team.”
Michael Appleton has won two matches in his short reign as manager, beating Sunderland 2-0 in the league and Rotherham 3-0 in the EFL Trophy, a game which still saw the Imps eliminated.
Our View
This is a big window for Lincoln City fans, but for the club, I think there’s something more pressing to be addressed.
A number of key players are out of contract over the summer and a couple, the likes of Michael Bostwick, are big characters and fan favourites.
If Appleton is going to be a success, both on and off the field, a good PR move might be to secure the defender on a new deal to give fans someone to focus their positivity on.
