The show must go on

Steve Tilson has set a target of fifty points for safety and City are now within touching distance of that, one win and a draw to be precise. It’s the generally accepted bench mark for breathing more easily after a season of struggle. It would be nice to get to that point sooner rather than later but this is Lincoln City after all. Reaching safety is not necessarily the recipe for an exciting end of season’s football but few of us would swap the Imps position for that of Barnet or Stockport just for the sake of some edge of seat entertainment. Not many would relish much more of the likes of Accrington or the first half of the Southend game either but beggars can’t be choosers and most of us will be content to see the season out and anticipate what Tilly and Paul Brush have in their locker to titillate our football taste buds for next season. Hope that’s not tempting providence too much.

One things for sure, Tilson will be without the services of Delroy Facey and Ben Hutchinson as the team shape up to face Stevenage on Saturday. In Delroy’s case fans will be genuinely sorry to be without the services of a player who has gone from journeyman to Captain Marvel in a few weeks with displays of muscle and, biggest surprise this, speed, putting many a specialist left winger in the shade with some scintillating displays latterly. He has taken to the captaincy like a duck to water and it has somehow enhanced his game. We at Lincoln City Mad wish Del a speedy recovery. In Ben Hutchinson’s case he has gone from not far off zero to even lower in the eyes of some fans judging by the reaction to his sending off at Macc, a situation the player retrieved to a certain extent by posting an apology on Twitter on Tuesday night. We have all got to accept though that, especially with Ashley Grimes being one misdemeanour off a suspension himself, City are going to need to use their understudies for the remainder of this term. Scott Spencer will not be able to get on the pitch quickly enough to atone for that fluffed effort in the dying minutes last Saturday and Andy Hutchinson is still waiting to show what he can do. Let’s face it there is about as much chance of Grimes being at Sincil Bank next season as Ben Hutchinson had of winning player of the season at ten o’clock last Tuesday night so perhaps we all need to calm down and do what we hope we do well, support the team. Hutchinson will need no telling that he was in the wrong at Moss Rose and here at LCM we hope that he will put his anger to good use the next time he dons the red and white. Tilson will presumably use the remaining season to judge who is going and who is staying and he can’t do that relying on a player who is not going to be here next term.

On to Stevenage then and a chance for Southern based Imps to have a lie-in and not have to face the delights of the A1. Stevenage, confusingly known as the Boro’ even though they no longer go by that name, have not had an outstanding season at home with a total of six wins in comparison with City’s seven. Where the teams differ is that, in comparison with the Imps eight losses, Boro’ have lost only three and have drawn the remainder so it would be no great surprise if City emerge from this fixture needing just a win to reach their target. Time will tell.