Lincoln City will not take any risks with winter signing Josh Honohan, even if it means making small sacrifices at the beginning of the season.
The six-figure import from Ireland got his first minutes in an open game against Grimsby Town, adding to the 45 he got behind closed doors in the 3-0 win against Mansfield Town. Looking strong and robust, he put himself about well at Blundell Park after nine months out, but he won’t be rushed into competitive action if it means putting his fitness at risk deeper into the season.
As head coach Chris Cohen explained, Josh’s minutes will be managed, even though he is coming through matches well.
“We’ll manage everyone’s minutes, but Josh in particular because of the length of time that he’s been out, alongside a couple of others,” Chris said in his post-match interview.
“He got up to 45 today. He did 45 the other day as well, I believe, so it’s a couple of 45s now, and hopefully we can push a few more.
“We know that with Josh, it’s going to take time for him to be ready and able to complete 90 minutes.”
Josh came to England from Shamrock Rovers, and at the time, their fans expressed surprise he hadn’t moved into the Championship. He has now, without kicking a ball, courtesy of an injury picked up in the FAI Cup Final, his last competitive match back in November.
The length of his absence means he’s probably in a slightly different position to some of our players, a situation not lost on the coaching staff as they plan for the opening day against Middlesbrough.
“We’ve got to make sure we do right by him because we see him as a long-term part of our plans,” finished Chris.
“If we have to sacrifice a little bit at the start to make sure that he’s ready to be fit for the whole season, then that’s far more important.”
Josh is likely to get more minutes this weekend as the Imps take on Doncaster Rovers and Barnsley in back-to-back matches. The following week sees another behind-closed-doors game against Nottingham Forest b side, before Derby County at Pride Park a week on Saturday, a competitive game in the League Cup, but one that will be a nice finish to our pre-season period.
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