Lincoln City grabbed the first home point of the season last night with a 0-0 draw against Blackburn Rovers, but it was much more about what might be, and could be, going forward.
City started with one new signing, Callum Elder, in the team; otherwise it was very much as you were from the League One days. However, Andrei Coubis and Mikkel Ladefoged came off the bench, meaning three of our four permanent new signings were on the field.
The other, Daniel Oyegoke, was in the stands watching Dom Jefferies playing in his position, and after the game, Chris spoke about the newest permanent recruit.
“I had an incredibly impressive Zoom with him a couple of days ago,” he told assembled press after the game.
“Obviously, he’s been playing out in Italy. A player that we’ve known about for a number of seasons: he was playing in England and up in Scotland over the last few seasons. He’ll be a really exciting addition. A young player that we know we can help and make better as well.
“He’ll be a really exciting addition to the team.
Meanwhile, the sixth loan signing of the season, Chiedozie Ogbene, arrived very late in the window, with half an hour to spare. He has Premier League experience, as well as recent Championship experience, and has penned a deal until January.
“We’ve been excited about all the signings that we’ve made this season, but Chio probably brings the most amount of pedigree in terms of what he’s achieved in his career so far,” added Chris.
“He played and scored five goals for Luton in the Premier League, then went to Ipswich, where he hasn’t played probably as much as he’d have liked. He needs to find a home where he gets regular first-team football, and hopefully we can bring that.
“He’s an incredible athlete and a really good footballer as well. So we’re super excited to have him as part of our team.
That concluded the Imps business, with the late flurry not something we expected to see. Both players watched on as the old-look Imps got the second clean sheet of the season, but they’ll be hoping to play a major part as the campaign rumbles on.
For their part, the head coaches, Chris and Tom, seem delighted not only with the late business, but the belief in the current players as well.
“The club and the board have backed the group in terms of giving out loads of new contracts and now adding a lot of volume and a lot of really good players in each position,” he added.
“So it’s going to be difficult because we’ve got to manage 24, 25 players who expect to play every Saturday afternoon.
“Mine and Tom’s job is to do that and make sure we’re picking the right team and getting the balance of the team right. But yeah, the club have backed us in terms of everything that they said prior to me and Tom getting the job. They’ve backed us. We couldn’t be happier with the squad, the group of players we’ve got and the personality that it’s got.
“It’s up to us to try and get the best out of it.”
There will be no stiffer test of that than this weekend, when Southampton come to the Bank, last season’s play-off semi-finalists who weren’t actually beaten, but kicked out after winning the semi-final.
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