I know what you’re thinking. Genuinely, I do.

You’re thinking that I’ve got some sort of smart response about locking the doors at the Academy of Light so the players can’t get out, about kidnapping all Sunderland’s keepers before the game, or about slipping Carl Boyeson £50k and a ticket to Las Vegas flying out Sunday. Well, I’m not. I’ve come up with a formation I think could win us the game on Saturday.

I use the word ‘could’ in the very, very loosest sense. Very loosest. This is the biggest game of the season and the hardest in equal measure. Well, we’re Lincoln City, we don’t do anything easily and to be fair, we have no right to even be fourth in the table, fighting for a play-off spot. We are, we still have a chance and a result this weekend would keep us in the mix. A win, which is a big task, would be massive.

Can we do it? Honestly, I don’t think so. With no Tom Hopper, no Jorge Grant, no Joe Walsh, and no Harry Anderson, our options are really limited. This season has been punishing, demanding and eventually, I believe it has broken our fragile squad, exposing the shortcomings that we have. By the way, those shortcomings are being fourth in the division, above Portsmouth, Ipswich and Oxford, a position I felt wouldn’t be possible this season. That’s not bad.

However, as I said to a good friend this week, with football it is the hope that kills you. Right now, we still have hope of trips to Loftus Road, Bramall Lane and the City Ground next season. It’s the hope that upsets me on a matchday now. When we had nothing to play for, I could shrug a defeat off and get on with my weekend, but this is unprecedented Lincoln City. The money in the Championship makes it a more lucrative jump than at any time in our history. That is why it hurts so much to watch us stumble, but it is also why we must stay calm, behind the team and accept that if it isn’t to be this season, we are on the right track.

If it is to be this season, then we really need to get something from the Stadium of Light this weekend. Here’s how someone who struggles to get promoted out of League two on Football Manager thinks we do it.

Back Four

Firstly, we stick with a back four, no point in reinventing the wheel. Part of me thinks a back three, going 3-5-2, might help our frailties, but we don’t have the players for it. I did toy with that when coming up with my formation, but instead, I’ve gone for a back four. It isn’t ideal as I feel we’re a left back short because of what I want to do in midfield, so I’ve chosen Poole, Jackson, Eyoma and Bramall as my starting four.

McGeady is a problem on the left, so Poole is tasked with keeping him quiet. On the right, I think Bramall has Gooch for pace, so even if he strays forward a little, he does have the legs to get back. I fear McGeady would have Bramall on toast, but I can see Poole offering a more solid option.

Yes, I’ve dropped Montsma. His form isn’t coming back and for me, a rest might be in order. Eyoma has been solid all season and he comes in on the right, Jackson on the left. What is crucial is not the back four, but how I choose to set up in front of that.