Could This Be Michael Skubala’s First Imps XI?

All eyes will be on Stevenage this weekend as Michael Skubala takes control of the Imps for the first time.

The former Leeds United coach will be in the dugout watching his team in the flesh, able to influence events on the field for the first time. He’s without a raft of players – Lewis Montsma and Ben House have long-term injuries, and Reeco Hackett and Tyler Walker are hopefully not so long but definitely out. Ted Bishop may or may not be injured; you never quite know, whilst Paudie O’Connor is suspended and Sean Roughan is on international duty. That’s six first-team players out for definite, maybe seven.

We will still be able to put a strong side out, but will it look like our previous teams? Or will our new head coach make a surprising switch, an instant change to affect our fortunes? At Leeds, both with the Under 21s and the first team, he played a 4-2-3-1. Will he do the same this weekend?

My gut feeling is no, he won’t. Given that he’ll have had perhaps four days on the training ground by the time we travel to face Evans and his side, I strongly suspect he’ll be looking to keep much the same shape as before. That’s not to say it won’t change, but I think he might want to have a degree of continuity. One of our strongest attributes is our out-of-possession game, and I think that executing that effectively will demand a degree of familiarity in terms of our set-up.

I believe we will be 3-4-3 this weekend, but I do think there will be changes from the draw against Port Vale. At centre back, there has to be – with three out, the back three picks itself. Alex Mitchell has been reliable, and Adam Jackson is not far off Player of the Season so far. They’ll likely be joined by TJ, leaving Jack Burroughs and Lasse Sorensen on the flanks.

I can see Ethan Erhahon and Ethan Hamilton getting a start, and the big debate will be how we look up top. We’ve started oddly in recent weeks – Haks through the middle with strikers on the bench, Ali Smith out wide with wingers on the bench. Will that be the case this weekend?

I don’t think so. I get the feeling our new man might be a little more practical in terms of playing people in their rightful position. With a goal and an assist in his last two matches, I’m backing Jack Vale for a start. He’s been improving every time he steps on the field, and I think with his energy in the forward line, we can press Stevenage high. They like to go from back to front pretty quickly, so I suspect we might look to stop that from happening.

I also think we’ll be plotting a course for us to win the game, with instinctive footballers who have natural talent and belief in themselves. That’s why I’m backing Dylan Duffy and Danny Mandroiu to start against Stevenage. Duffy has been making things happen when he’s started of late, and Mandroiu is our best player in terms of technical ability.