Photo: Lincoln City FC
Mark Kennedy spoke to the press today ahead of our first League One home fixture against Wycombe Wanderers and discussed our new defensive addition, our home form and the importance of the fans.
City announced the signing of wing-back Jack Burroughs on a season long loan on Thursday from Championship club Coventry City. Mark was pleased to get the 22-year-old in on loan as he offers versatility, as he is able to play both left and right wing-back as well as midfield if needed, but more importantly the head coach was pleased with his quality, and his technical ability.
“I’m really pleased to get Jack over the line, we’ve had our eyes on him for some time. He’s a very good player technically and is impressive with both feet, which is unique in modern football. He’s a good size, good athlete and a good defender. Lots of people were chasing him, so we’re happy we’ve got him.”
The signing of Jack means it’s much more unlikely that the back-three will be disrupted, and that’s important with Sean Roughan being seen as an important member of that defensive trio. Mark spoke very highly of Sean, but insisted that he wants to play him as a centre-half rather than a wing-back, and the signing of Jack means that he won’t need to do that anymore.
“We are light in that particular area, and that’s where I see Sean. I don’t want to play him as a left wing-back, I think he’s better as a left sided centre-half. It gives Sean the best opportunity to maximise himself and flourish.”
Mark admitted that we are short in the defensive positions, but assured fans that the club are trying to get players through the door in that position to replace Regan Poole and Joe Walsh, who both left the club this summer.
“We haven’t been able to get a centre-half through the door due to no fault of our own. We’ve lost three in the summer, with Regan [Poole], Joe [Walsh] and Lewis’ [Montsma] injury. We’ve worked tirelessly to fix that, it was one of our main priorities but through no fault of our own we haven’t managed to do that, but we remain keen on doing that.”
Mark talked about the importance of the fans to the teams success and how important they can be through the season. One moment in particular he picked out was when we played Peterborough away, and despite losing 4-0, the team were given a standing ovation.
“I’ve missed the fans, when we’ve presented to players this year and the one thing that always stands out is the home games and the connection with the fans. I’m looking forward to that, it played a huge part in our success last year. There’s games we wouldn’t have got through without them, fans are so important. Our fans continually get behind us, a good example was Peterborough away last year. We got a standing ovation and that’s something I’ll never forget.”
Finally, Mark spoke the EFL Cup draw last night, which paired the Imps with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. This fixture will be the second time Mark has managed City away at a Premier League club, having travelled down to Southampton last December in the same competition.
“I thought it was a brilliant draw, it’s a great Premier League club, that’s hugely supported, so hopefully there’s a big crowd and I’m sure we’ll have a huge following too. Bramall Lane is a special place, and I’m sure it will be a great night for everybody.”
Analysis and reaction to Lincoln City vs Wycombe Wanderers will be available over the weekend at AllLincoln both on www.alllincoln.co.uk and our Instagram page.