Chris Cohen says the Imps are 'chomping at the bit' to return to Sky Bet Championship action when they travel to Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.
City head to Bramall Lane for their first fixture since the international break, with the break providing a valuable opportunity for the squad to work on their principles, integrate new arrivals and address areas of their game which needed improvement from the opening weeks of the season.
Cohen explained: “It’s been a really important couple of weeks for us.
"A lot of players came in late in the window. I know some of them went away internationally, but it’s given us an opportunity to go back for our principles, an opportunity to train hard, an opportunity to bond off the pitch as well and spend some time together.
“We’ve tried to use it the best we can, but we’re all chomping at the bit to get back to the real stuff on Saturday afternoon.”
The additional time on the training ground has also been particularly useful for the players who joined City late in the summer transfer window, with Dan Oyegoke among those to have benefited from the extra work with Cohen and his coaching staff.
He said: “They were the key ones to make sure that they understand the way we play.
"They’ve been an important part of it already, but just some nuanced stuff within it, so spending time with them.
“Then there’s been some bits that we’ve found throughout the eight games that maybe we needed to hone in on, haven’t been quite up to the levels that we’ve needed them to be.
“We’ve gone after different parts of the game, different parts of the pitch, but as always, the boys’ application every day and the way they’ve gone after each other in the right way has been a pleasure to watch.”
Saturday’s fixture begins a demanding run of games for City, with West Ham United and Millwall to follow, but Cohen insists the challenges ahead are something to embrace rather than fear.
He added: “I think it’s exciting. It’s what we all want to do
“I think we’ve shown in our performances, our performances especially at home and our resilience away from home, that we know we can be competitive in these matches against anyone.
“We know we have to be at full flow, we know that our players have to reach their peak levels for us to win games of football, but every time we’ve challenged them, we’re doing it.
“Whatever the challenges in front of them, they’ve managed to achieve, so hopefully that can continue.”
With the international break now behind them, Cohen is looking forward to seeing City return to the Championship and put the work of the last fortnight into practice.
He continued: “We know the challenge that’s in front of us.
“We don’t underestimate the magnitude of the challenge in front of us. Sheffield United away, West Ham at home, Millwall away. It’ll be a really, really tough challenge.
“We just know that we’ll go into it, the players will give their absolute everything, we’ll give our absolute everything and so far that’s brought some positive performances and results.”
