Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala is keen to keep up their recent momentum when they welcome Mansfield Town to the LNER Stadium on Saturday.
The Imps have enjoyed a fine start to the season, losing just one of their seven games in all competitions. Their solitary defeat came against AFC Wimbledon earlier this month, a result which can be sympathised with following the first half dismissal of centre-back Adam Jackson.
They have since picked up wins over Plymouth Argyle and Northampton Town, whilst they were denied three points at the death last weekend when a Tom Hamer own goal saw Bolton Wanderers equalise deep in added time. Skubala’s team also progressed to the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday with a narrow win over Burton Albion, setting up a clash with World Champions Chelsea.
“Different Mansfield”
Lincoln put seven past Mansfield over the two league meetings last season, winning 4-0 at home and 3-1 at Field Mill. The Stags travel the short distance up the A46 on Saturday on the back of three straight league victories, a feat which isn’t lost on Skubala.
The former Leeds United coach isn’t taking anything for granted and knows his side will be in for a battle. Speaking ahead of the game, he said:
“We’re at home, we want to take the game to them. We’ve started well so we want to go again and try to get the three points.
“They are a very good side, I watched their game against Everton and I’ve seen all of their matches so far this season and for me they’re a completely different side to what they were last season.
“They’ve got a lot of strength and power and they’ve started really well. They’re up there with the leagues top goalscorers so they can be a real threat
“Mansfield’s last three performances have been really strong, especially against Leyton Orient who are a top team. We’ve just got to make sure that we perform, do our job and play the game that we want to play.”
Writer’s View
Lincoln’s recent form mean they will be confident they can pick up another three points on Saturday and potentially break into the play-off places. They were the far superior team last season during their two meetings but Michael Skubala knows those results count for nought this time around. Nigel Clough’s summer business has been good and he appears to have built a team which is much tougher to beat. This is somewhat of a local derby so tensions are likely to be high, but expect a cagey affair at the LNER Stadium.
