I sat down on a call with former Imps’ defender Max Melbourne the other day as we discussed his time with Lincoln City.
One of the most prominent things we discussed was his relationship with Michael Appleton, which was perceived as poor by many, with Max finding himself on the fringes of the squad quite unfairly at times throughout his three years at the club. Max told me that, despite what people may have thought, the relationship with Appleton wasn’t poor and that the pair had honest conversations with each other during their time at the club.
“The relationship wasn’t poor, we had clear dialogue with each other, but it’s a business and if I’m not putting out what the club expects of me then they are obliged to go and get someone in. He didn’t treat me unfairly or anything, it was down to me to train and play to the best of my abilities and looking back I could’ve done more. He was the one that signed me and had the faith in me to kick on, but for whatever reason I couldn’t get to that level at Lincoln, if I could go back there were certainly things I could’ve done differently.”
Max went on to make it clear that he had no issues with the club or Appleton at all. He even went on record to say that the club holds a special place in his heart, with it being his first time away from West Brom, but admitted he wished he’d done things differently during his time at Sincil Bank.
“I’ve got no issues with Lincoln as a club or Michael at all. It was the first time I moved away from West Brom, so it’ll hold a special place in my heart playing in front of the fans at Sincil Bank. I really enjoyed my time and I regularly come back [to Lincoln], it was an enjoyable part of my career. I could’ve done things differently but fundamentally I really enjoyed my time there.”
You can read more from my exclusive interview with Max over the coming days as we discuss his loan spells, that Plymouth goal and much more. I thought I’d add this in now as it’s the first of the four articles going out for this interview, but Max was a really down to earth lad and was a pleasure to speak to. It was clear to me from the off he really wished it had worked out at Lincoln and throughout he spoke of the club so highly, and I wish him all the luck in what lies ahead for him because he certainly deserves a clean break.