Michael Appleton was pleased to pick up three points at LNER Stadium this afternoon but explained there were mixed emotions at full time as his side had to come from behind twice to secure the win.
“Burton are a good side who put bodies forward, we weren’t aggressive enough so that’s what made it an end to end game,” said Michael.
“We defended well in the second half because we went ahead for the first time. It is a lot easier to play when you’re behind in a game, I have mixed emotions, but we have won the game and that's the important thing.
“I told the boys not to do that to me again, I don’t know why we weren’t aggressive in the first half but the way the players came back into the game deserves a lot of credit for their attitude.”
Appleton continued by explaining how he was pleased with the fight from his squad in the second half.
“It was a range of emotions at full time, but we have a really good group and the players are all fighting for each other you can ask anyone that,” said Michael.
“At half time I thought we should have been in front if you look at the chances. We changed things at half time and so did they. Having (Anthony) Scully and Hops (Tom Hopper) is like a little and large scenario because Scully is a pocket rocket and Tom can deal with the ball in the air.
“We gave two sloppy goals away and that is unlike us. We had a crazy day at Accrington but apart from that we haven’t been a team to concede soft goals. We had a great attitude in the second half to stop the ball going in the back of the net.”
The Imps boss continued by turning his attention to Josh Vickers who pulled off a penalty save late in the second half.
“This one counts because if you go on to lose the game after a penalty save it means nothing. Players needed to step up and the save from Josh gave everyone an extra bit of energy.
"Max (Melbourne) and Conor (Coventry) went on to make important blocks and if we did that in the first half it would have been a lot more comfortable. The reaction said it all from the fans, saves like that are almost as good as goals.
“Conor grew into the game and did really well. His performances in training were like he wanted the shirt. He did well against Gillingham but today he has put in a different performance, he has had to dig in at times. The ground he covered to get back was very good.”
Appleton finished by speaking about the Imps going forward with a trip to Tranmere next weekend: “We have got a tally of points we want to achieve as a group and if we hit that then we will be comfortable. We are concentrating on ourselves and we are confident we can achieve our goals.
“Tranmere is a difficult place to go because of the pitch and the fact they have a reason behind them. We have played against a good side today; they have been at this level for a while now, so we want to grow as a football club.”
