Chris Cohen says Lincoln City will look into whether to appeal Deji Elerewe’s red card following the defender’s dismissal in the 2-2 draw at Millwall.
The Imps led through Andrei Coubis and Rob Street before second-half goals from Kyrell Lisbie and Jake Cooper brought Millwall level. Elerewe was then sent off in the 84th minute following a coming together with Zak Lovelace, leaving City to see out the closing stages with ten men.
Speaking to the written press, Cohen was asked about the potential absentees for Burnley and Conor McGrandles’ return, after Freddie Draper also collected a booking which brings a suspension.
“Yeah, Conor will be available. Obviously, Tom, Fred and Deji will be out, depending on whether we try to get Deji’s rescinded. We have to look into that and see if it’s something we want to pursue.”
Tom Hamer is also serving a suspension following his dismissal against West Ham, leaving the head coaches with further changes to consider. Six players had come into the starting XI at Millwall, and Cohen discussed the options available to him and Tom Shaw.
“We’ve obviously got a couple of injuries and a couple of lads out, but, like we’ve said for a long time, we’ve put a squad together that we’re so comfortable with. We feel like we’ve got really good competition for places.
“You saw that in terms of Andrei coming in for Daniel. I thought Daniel was outstanding on Wednesday night against West Ham, but Andrei was the right pick for today’s match in terms of what we wanted to look like.
“We’ve got wonderful competition for places, and through other people’s misfortune, it creates opportunities. You look at the boys who have come in through the season, and in the main, they’ve taken them. It’ll be another opportunity for someone to come in for Freddie next week.”
Coubis had returned in place of Daniel Oyegoke, while Yunus Konak made his first EFL start following his loan move from Brentford. Cohen was also asked about the contributions of those brought into the side, particularly the Romanian defender, who opened the scoring after just 30 seconds.
“I thought there were lots and lots of really good performances. Andrei has played four games for the Romanian national team, so we know he’s going to go on and be a stellar player.
“We feel really fortunate to have him. He’s had a really nice rise in terms of coming over from a different country, not knowing the whole language yet, and gradually playing more and more minutes. He’s going to be a big player for us, along with a lot of other boys who played really well today.”
City now have a full week to prepare for Burnley’s visit to Sincil Bank, with a decision on any Elerewe appeal still to come. McGrandles’ return will provide another option in midfield, while Draper’s absence creates a vacancy in the forward line.
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