Chris Cohen will not overreact to Saturday's defeat against Birmingham City, with positives on a frustrating afternoon for the Imps.
With several encouraging passages of play against Blues, particularly during a strong first-half display, and Cohen was keen to maintain perspective following the setback at the ProAmpac Stadium.
He said: “There have been lots of bright sparks. We don’t get to the end of a win and think we’ve cracked it, and we don’t get to the end of a defeat and think everything is going badly.
“We’ve got some really good things going on. We’ve been incredibly competitive and I feel like we’ve been in almost every game.
“When we’ve reached our levels, it feels like we can beat anyone in the division. We want to turn good performances into more wins and more points, but overall it’s been a solid start to the season.”
The Imps created a number of promising opportunities against Blues, particularly during an encouraging first-half display, but were punished by the visitors’ clinical finishing at the ProAmpac Stadium.
Cohen believes there were plenty of positives to take from the performance but stressed the importance of reducing the opportunities afforded to opposition teams.
He said: “We’ve got to make sure we get back to not giving up big chances. We’ve got to get back to being incredibly hard to beat.
“We’ve been brilliant at that over the last couple of seasons and we’ve just got to double down on that before we start looking at the prettier stuff around the opposition’s goal.
“We were a threat, particularly in the first half, but if you give up big chances against good teams, ultimately you’re going to get punished.”
City started brightly against Birmingham, with Mikkel Ladefoged striking a post early on, while Deji Elerewe was denied by James Beadle shortly before the interval.
Cohen felt his side had the better of the opening 45 minutes against opponents who arrived in excellent form.
He added: “I thought we started the game well and finished the first half very well.
“Against a team of Birmingham’s calibre, you’re never going to have 45 minutes of complete dominance, but I thought if you were to ask who was the better team over the first 45 minutes, it felt like we were.
“That’s pleasing against a really good side, but ultimately we have to get back to not giving up big chances.
“The goals felt preventable today. Sometimes you concede goals that you just have to accept, but I don’t think anyone is coming away from that game thinking those goals weren’t preventable.”
Tom Bayliss provided a positive moment for the Imps when he came off the bench to reduce the deficit with a well-taken finish, while Cohen also highlighted the contributions of Ladefoged and Andrei Coubiș.
He said: “I’m really pleased for Tom. It’s difficult when Conor is unavailable and we’ve chosen to go with Ivan, but for Tom to come on and have the impact he did was really positive.
“Mikkel kept his place today, which shows what we thought of his performance last week, and I thought there were lots of bright moments from him again.
“Andrei has taken to the level really well. We’re really happy with the way he’s playing, particularly as he’s still playing out of position.
“There have been lots of bright sparks. We don’t get to the end of a win and think we’ve cracked it, and we don’t get to the end of a defeat and think everything is going badly. We’ve got some really good things going on.”
Cohen also expressed his appreciation for the backing of the City supporters, who continued to encourage the team throughout the afternoon.
He added: “We’re so appreciative of them. We understand we’re going to have days like this, although we don’t want them.
“We do absolutely everything we can and live this night and day because we want to give them moments and memories throughout the season.
“We’ve needed them in the good times and we definitely need them in the tougher times. We know they’ll always be there for us and we appreciate that.
“But we have to make sure we’re consistently giving them something to cheer about. One home win from the games we’ve had isn’t enough of a return and we know we can do better.”
The Imps now face a quick turnaround ahead of Tuesday evening’s visit to Watford, with Cohen determined to see a positive response from his players.
He added: “We’ve been incredibly competitive and I feel like we’ve been in almost every game. When we’ve reached our levels, it feels like we can beat anyone in the division.
“We want to turn good performances into more wins and more points, but overall it’s been a solid start to the season.
“Watford will be a really difficult game. They’ve got some really good individuals and I’m sure they’ll come out fighting.
“We’ve got to make sure we have a reaction of our own, and that starts with being incredibly hard to beat.”