Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley has highlighted the importance of the January transfer window. With his side seeking to navigate through a vital stage of the season.

The Imps head into this weekend having narrowly beaten play-off chasing Stevenage, in what proved to be a tight game.

Cowley on the transfer window

Those important three points meant that Lincoln were able to stay within 2 points of leaders MK Dons. As they also moved 5 points clear of fourth, crucially still having a game in hand on many of their rivals.

The position Cowley’s team are in means that the upcoming transfer window could either help or hinder their promotion push.

And Danny is hoping he will be able to utilise the market to his advantage come the end of the season.

On the window, Cowley said:

“I think we do a lot of recruitment work, and we do a lot of preparation work. It changes very quickly in football as we all know, so all you can do is the groundwork.
“Know as much as you can about all the players that may or may not become available, and then be ready to react once the January window opens. But there are a lot of football matches between now and then, and things will change in that time.
“So we just need to be as prepared as possible to react, as and when the fun begins.
“When you’re a club like ours, and you’re trying to make this outstanding progress in a very short time frame, you can’t miss out on transfer windows.”

Last January saw Cowley bring in midfielder Tom Pett from Stevenage. Who, despite initially struggling, is now a key part of his promotion-chasing team.

Cowley on Morecambe

This Saturday sees Lincoln return to Sincil Bank, hosting EFL League Two strugglers Morecambe. A team who are playing better than their league position suggests, winning 2 drawing 3 and losing just 1 of their last 6 games.

Their only league loss in that time came against leaders MK Dons. And Danny Cowley praised the clubs recent displays, proving how competitive this league can be.

Cowley also spoke highly of their manager Jim Bentley, who is currently the longest-serving manager in the top four tiers of English football.

On Morecambe’s manager, he said:

“We’re really respectful of Morecambe, Jim Bentley has done a fantastic job there. He’s longest-serving manager in the Football League, and any manager that stands the test of time certainly has my respect.
“It’s a crazy industry, and he would have had lots of barriers in his way. He’d had to have been incredibly resilient and determined to overcome what he will have had to overcome.”

On the team, Cowley said:

“Year after year, he produces teams that have got real game intelligence, that are physically and mentally tough. And they always find a way of accumulating enough points to stay in the league.
“They’ve been on a good run. We watched them play MK Dons, and they were the better team first half, and in the second half, they caused them lots of problems.
“We had a good day on Tuesday, tactically preparing for what will be a very tough game against Morecambe come Saturday.”

Following Accrington Stanley’s promotion to EFL League One last season, Morecambe are now the league’s longest-serving team. With this being their 12th consecutive season in League Two, following promotion from non-league in the summer of 2007.

Cowley on the club’s support

When it comes to the League table, it is a tight affair. But one area that sees the Imps stand head and shoulders above the rest is their support.

The Imps’ average home attendance is 8,844, which is some distance clear of MK Dons in second with 7,028. Showing just how popular Lincoln have become under the Cowley brothers.

And Danny has spoken about just how much the fans mean to the club, and how they are integral to the team’s success.

On the support, Cowley said:

“The support at Stevenage was probably as good as it’s been away from home this year. The noise and the influence that they had on the game and the team was brilliant.
“They certainly dragged us through when the conditions were against us, they kept us working hard with their energy.
“We’re now back at Sincil Bank, and we know how tough these games are. Nobody comes to Sincil Bank and lies down. We urge the crowd to help out and if they stay behind the boys, I’m sure we’ll be just fine.”

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