Photo Credit: Lincoln City FC
Mark Kennedy spoke to the press ahead of our Carabao Cup tie against Notts County on Tuesday and discussed the performance from his team on Saturday against Bolton and what he expects from Luke Williams’ side.
Before looking to County on Tuesday, Mark made it clear he was disappointed with the manner in which the goals were conceded on Saturday and claimed they were all individual errors from his players, and that they will learn from the mistakes going into Tuesday night and beyond.
Mark believes we were good tactically and claims he isn’t worried about how we played over the course of the 90 minutes despite the scoreline.
“I’m disappointed with the two set pieces because we are normally very good at that. For the own goal, if our unit moves better, if Paudie [O’Connor] reads the game and moves with Adam [Jackson] and TJ [Eyoma], then he’s in a better position to clear the ball, and he wouldn’t be facing his own goal.
“Structurally we were fine, I had no worries on the sideline. We knew they were going to have the ball, it was always going to be a counter attacking afternoon for us. Lasse [Sorensen had a good chance to slide one to Tyler [Walker] for a tap in, so that was poor execution, Lasse was also really unlucky himself a few times. Overall, we had really good moments and tactically I was pleased.”
“We don’t come out and criticise people, but at the end of the day, it’s just two lapses in concentrations. The players will learn from that.”
Mark touched upon fixture congestion and the added pressure with the new additional time rules, which will see his players play potentially another 90 minutes worth of game time in the next six games. Away from that, Mark was happy that the team have a chance to bounce back so quickly after a defeat and hopes a win could boost the team going into the rest of August.
“It doesn’t benefit us, but it’s the same for everyone else. They’ll be new problems this year, in six games time, the lads who have played the full game will have played the equivalent of seven games. It doesn’t help, but it’s the same for everybody, including our opposition.”
“After a defeat, you just want the next game to come quickly. You don’t have a week to dwell on it, so it’s a good opportunity.”
Mark was very complimentary of Notts County, claiming they have lots of quality around the club from their players and coaching staff to their fanbase. Putting all of that aside though, the City head coach wants to reach the next round on Tuesday night.
“We approach every game the same, football is about fine margins. We’ll respect the opposition, they had an incredible year last season. They are a very good side, I know a lot of the players, outstanding manager, lovely brand of football, hugely supported, it’s a big club, but we are going there to get through to the next round.”
Analysis and reaction to Notts County vs Lincoln City will be available throughout the week at AllLincoln both on www.alllincoln.co.uk and our Instagram page.