Chris Cohen says Lincoln City’s head coaches need to strike a better balance on the touchline after both served bans at Watford on Tuesday night.
The 1-0 defeat at Vicarage Road was the Imps’ second in four days after Birmingham City won at Sincil Bank on Saturday. Neither Chris nor Tom were in the dugout: Tom picked up a booking after Ben House was fouled against Birmingham, his third of the season, resulting in a ban.
Chris then picked up his third as he remonstrated with Lewis Smith at the final whistle, ruling him out of the Watford game as well. Shuan Pearson, David Preece and Paul McShane were in the dugout, which is probably best, as James Bell could quite easily have been flashing more cards after Watford’s controversial goal.
Speaking ahead of the trip to Queens Park Rangers, Chris was asked what he and Tom had taken from a night when neither could be in the dugout.
“It’s not ideal when you’ve got two head coaches and neither of them can be on the touchline,” he said.
“In terms of the process, in terms of the game, in terms of getting our messages across, obviously it’s something that I’m really used to anyway because I always sit up there in the first half.
“I didn’t feel like it impacted it that much, but it would have been nice to be able to be down there with the players, especially at the end of the game. Whenever it’s tough, those are the moments that we need to be really visible and be stood with our players.”
Chris was also asked whether the bans reflected how much the pair cared about getting the best for the club. Bookings for passionate outbursts can, in some instances, be endearing to supporters, as it does demonstrate how much individuals care.
“Balance is something that you’re always looking for. Every performance, every game we go into, it’s how aggressive can we be while understanding the other team’s threat.
“You’re on the sidelines, you’re passionate, you want to win, you want to kick every ball. But at the same time, you need to be really methodical in the way that you’re thinking about what subs you’re going to make or what systems you’re going to change.
“So, yeah, it’s always about balance and we’ve probably edged into a little bit too much passion, which I don’t think is a bad thing. But between the pair of us, one of us most definitely needs to be a little bit calmer in some of those situations.”
We go to Loftus Road on Saturday for our final game before the international break, with Chris and Tom back in the dugout. As usual, Chris will be in the stands for the first half, while Tom can take his place in the technical area.
It’s not going to be easy, but there’s still a chance to go into the break with something to show for a difficult week.
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