Tom Shaw has admitted that improved Lincoln City squad availability has created a welcome selection headache ahead of their Carabao Cup trip to Bournemouth.
The Imps travel to the Premier League side in the third round after overcoming Derby County and Blackpool in their opening two ties. City made wholesale changes for the 4-1 victory at Bloomfield Road, but Chris Cohen and Tom must now decide how heavily to rotate against stronger opposition.
City emerged from Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Southampton with few fresh concerns, while the recent returns of Ben House and Sonny Bradley have strengthened the options available to the joint head coaches. Tom Hamer is also closing in on a return, leaving competition for places increasingly fierce.
“Yeah, and it’s a really nice position we’re in, with the squad being pretty much healthy at the minute, which is a positive,” siad Tim.
“It means we’ve been doing our physical work to a good level and signed some robust players.
“It just comes with different problems, with selection headaches. It was really difficult on Saturday to leave some of the lads out of the team who didn’t really deserve that to be the case, but we went with what we thought was right for the fixture. It’ll be the same again tomorrow.
“It’s a good place to be, but we’ve got to make sure everybody keeps fit and remains really attached to the group, because everybody’s got a big part to play.”
The depth of the current squad presents a different challenge from last season, when injuries and a smaller pool of available players frequently limited Lincoln’s options.
Reeco Hackett and Dom Jefferies were among those who dropped to the bench against Southampton, while several of the club’s summer signings remain in the process of building fitness and adapting to City’s demands.
Tom explained that regular communication would be important when managing those who found themselves outside the matchday squad.
“It’s not the news you want to deliver to anybody, that they’re not getting what they want at the weekend. But as long as the players know we’ve got their best interests, we’ll work with them on the things that can get them in the squad and in the team.
“We’re constantly in conversation with every player and keeping them really updated on what we think their progress needs to look like and where they sit with everything. But we’ll just be fair.
“Every game, we’ll monitor how the lads are training, how they’re performing and what’s right for the next fixture, then just pick the team that we think has got the best chance of winning.”
City changed the majority of their side when they faced League One Blackpool in the previous round, but Tom acknowledged that repeating that level of rotation against Premier League opponents may not be as straightforward.
However, players who have had limited opportunities during the opening weeks of the season are pushing for involvement. The selection will therefore have to balance minutes and squad management with City’s determination to trouble Andoni Iraola’s side.
“I think, looking ahead to tomorrow, we’ve got priorities to go through. We want to go there and be a real problem for what is a really good football team, and a club that we’ve got amazing respect for, with the journey they’ve had and what they’re doing now.
“But there are loads of lads who deserve opportunities, need opportunities and have been pushing. So we’ll change things around as much as we think is appropriate. The priority is to go and be a real problem for the Cherries.”
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