City manager Michael Appleton was naturally disappointed to see his side defeated against Portsmouth at LNER Stadium but insists his squad will learn a lot from the experience.
The Imps were without a number of players though injury but Michael was keen to stress he’s making no excuses for the defeat against a team who he fully expects to be amongst the front runners at the end of the season.
“We missed certainly one or two members of the side there’s no doubt about it. But I just think we got beat by a more experienced side.
“Between both boxes though I think we were better. I just thought they were better in both boxes. They were more clinical, more aggressive. They [Portsmouth] will definitely be in and around it, they showed their experience tonight. So when we’re in wide positions it’s important that we are aggressive and we get across people.
Robbie Gotts made his maiden bow for The Imps this evening and Michael looks forward to seeing more of the Leeds loanee out on the pitch and his versatility will certainly be something that can be an asset to the team.
“I thought Robbie did well in the first half, He’s going to be fine for us, he’s a midfield player as well as being able to play at full back and he’s got lots of energy and I’m sure we’ll see more and more of him and the better side of him going forward.”
The attention moves to the Emirates FA Cup this weekend as Forest Green come to LNER Stadium and the Imps’ boss is looking forward to his side taking to the pitch in a competition that has brought him many happy memories so far in his career.
“We’re coming up against a side who are doing well in League Two and the players are looking forward to it too. For any of the players who haven’t been involved in the FA Cup, me personally I love the competitions, I’ve been fortunate to go on a couple of very good runs as a player and a coach so it’s still feels magic to me and I hope it’s the same for the players.”
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Michael Appleton is sponsored by James Harbridge.
