Chris Cohen believes AFC Bournemouth provided a glimpse of the standards City aspire to reach after the Imps’ Carabao Cup campaign came to an end on the south coast.
City were beaten 4-0 by the Premier League side in the third round, with Cohen acknowledging there was plenty for his side to learn from a club whose development over recent years can provide inspiration for the Imps.
City v Bournemouth was a League Two fixture as recently as 2010. Cohen said: “This is a football club that, 15 or 20 years ago, were playing at levels that Lincoln have been playing at. You’ve seen the growth of the football club and we’re always aspiring to be better.
“We saw certain parts of what we’re all aspiring to be, and that’s staff and players. But we also have absolute belief in our group of players that they can compete against teams like that.”
Cohen and fellow head coach Tom Shaw have studied Bournemouth closely, and the City boss was particularly impressed by the work ethic the Cherries combine with their Premier League quality.
He added: “There are a couple of different teams that we’ve watched a lot of. We have to do it logically – you can’t just copy and paste something from the Premier League.
“They play with incredible humility. They’re top, top footballers but they’re willing to do the bits that are needed to win football matches, and that’s something we as a football club should aspire to be.
“We knew what was coming and they did exactly what we expected them to do. We hoped that we would be able to deal with it better and implement our stuff, but it never really felt like we got that going.”
The cup tie provided valuable minutes for several members of the squad, including first starts for Mikkel Ladefoged and Chieo Ogbene, while Daniel Oyegoke also featured.
Cohen believes the experience will be important as City’s newer arrivals continue to adapt to the team’s way of playing.
He said: “It’s so important to give people minutes and get them used to the way that we play,” he said. “It’s a reasonably unique style and it takes time.
“For every player on the pitch there were moments, but the consistency of those moments as a team wasn’t enough to really affect a very good football team. We win together and we lose together, so we’ve got to take our learnings.
“The effort and application from the players, as always, was top drawer. It’s just that there were some bits within our control – pieces of teamwork, intelligence and understanding – that we didn’t quite get right.”
