Conor McGrandles is relishing the leadership role that Michael Appleton has given him this season.
With Liam Bridcutt out injured, McGrandles has been given the captain’s armband and is delighted with the trust that has been put in him to lead the squad.
He said: “It’s good having that extra responsibility. I’m quite vocal around the place anyway so it doesn’t really change much of what I do, but it is really pleasing getting that bit of extra trust from the manager.
“At the start of the season I definitely didn't expect to be a stand-in captain for this many games, but I’m pleased that the gaffer puts that trust in me. Hopefully I’m not captain for too many more games and Bridds is back soon.”
The midfielder believes that everything fell into place for Saturday’s win against Oxford to provide a result which gives the Imps something to build on at Sunderland on Tuesday night.
He added: “It’s been coming because I think we deserved to win the Cheltenham game. We played really well for a lot of that game and just didn’t see it out.
“On Saturday it just all came together and that was against a really good team so it wasn’t a surprise that we ended up getting the result because of our performances a few games before.
“We know that Sunderland can be a really good atmosphere like it was in the semi-final but we need to try and keep them quiet for as long as possible and stamp our style on the game, we did that in the second half of that game and it stunned the crowd. If we can keep them quiet for as long as possible then we have got every chance.”
