With a home game finally coming around, I got to talk to another player as part of the club programme interview.
This week it was Ben Coker and in the programme piece, he talks about injury, recovery and which of the current squad he’d like to square off against in a celebrity boxing match. No, I’m not running out of ideas, that’s a cruel insinuation.
Although he’s been with us a while, he’s not been seen much in a Lincoln shirt, just 60 minutes of the EFL Trophy game against Rotherham United. The left back joined us after leaving Southend United and felt the need for a new challenge was behind his motivation as much as anything.
“The club was sold to me and I saw the rise of Lincoln so I felt I wanted the challenge of coming here and be a part of it. I really wanted to join the journey and have a change of challenge.”
That challenge includes getting fit from a knee injury that ruled him out for a year, as well as a groin injury that followed during his recuperation. Still, with an uncertain summer, he was happy to finally get the Lincoln deal sewn up.
“I was just trying to get as fit over the summer. My wedding was a nice distraction and when you haven’t got a club it is a worry not just for you but your family too. Once we knew I was coming here we came straight up and got settled, just couldn’t wait to get on the journey.”
Ben’s unveiling as a Lincoln player was taken out of the media team’s hands by Harry Anderson, with an accidental reveal made during a night of fun round at one of the player’s houses. Ben, who hadn’t been announced at that time, was pictured and tagged by Harry enjoying food with his teammates, prompting some quick videos from the players.
“It was a great unveiling wasn’t it? It was brilliant. I was around the boys for dinner and it got out so we got to do some videos and it was a really fun night.
“I didn’t think I’d get revealed like that but it really summed up the journey I guess and we had some fun with it. One of the boys brought a yo-yo round and I used to love them when I was younger. It was a funny evening.”
You’ll read much more about Ben in this weekend’s programme, including which ‘weirdo’ he’d like to be stuck on a desert island with; hopefully, this is a quick introduction to a player we’ll be seeing plenty more of over the coming months.