Colin Calderwood has admitted Northampton Town will rotate at Sincil Bank tonight, but the Cobblers man also accepts his side must improve significantly on the ball if they are to trouble the Imps.
With City firmly in the automatic promotion picture, the visitors arrive knowing they face one of the division’s most consistent sides. However, those at the lower end of the table have, traditionally, posed a problem for the Imps, who will be looking to better Bolton’s result at Reading.
For Northampton, this is the fourth of six successive midweek fixtures across league and cup, and Cobblers’ Technical Director Calderwood made it clear that changes are inevitable.
“I think it’s probably clear we need to do that (rotate). We did that last midweek but we still want to get the right personnel on the pitch for what we think will counteract the opposition and give ourselves the best chance of winning the game.”
Rotation can freshen legs, but it can also disrupt rhythm, and against a side in our current form, cohesion matters. Michael Skubala’s men have built momentum through consistency, particularly at home, where the intensity and structure have been key.
That competitive edge will be tested tonight. We have turned Sincil Bank into a difficult place to visit this season, controlling games both with and without the ball, and showing a maturity that perhaps was not widely predicted in August.
Calderwood was full of praise for City, acknowledging the scale of the challenge awaiting his side.
“Lincoln have shown all season that they are a really strong outfit, especially at home. They’re very well-rounded and it’s a real challenge for us but we’ve upset the odds a few times this season and we’ll look to do that again.”
However, the Cobblers’ man also conceded that their display at Exeter, a 0-0 draw, was not good enough in possession, despite keeping a clean sheet.
“There has to be an improvement in many aspects from Saturday and we challenged the boys to look at that today when we debriefed the game and analysed it. There’s so much better to come from us, certainly with the ball, and the lads accepted that straightaway and they feel themselves they can improve a lot.
“We were resolute and committed and defended particularly well so that side of it was good, but we don’t want too much of that. We had to on Saturday and we got through it and kept a clean sheet.”
There will also be a question as to whether Michael Skubala rotates his side this evening, after six games on the bounce with the same starting XI.
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