Chris Cohen believes City showed the qualities which will be required this season as they opened their campaign with a 2-1 Carabao Cup victory at Derby County.
The Imps produced a committed display at Pride Park to progress to the next round, with Cohen pleased to see the work undertaken throughout a demanding six-week pre-season come together in competitive action.
Cohen was particularly pleased with the contribution of a starting XI made up entirely of players who were part of City’s League One title-winning squad last season.
He said: “The most pleasing thing was probably the way that we won and the chances we were able to create.
“I think every player who started the game played in League One for us last year and, to a man, the effort and application was everything we asked of them.
“They’ve always given us that, but they went above and beyond to get themselves a really good victory and give themselves belief that they’re good enough to compete and thrive at this level
“Derby are a top team and we gave them all the respect they deserve for what they did last season. John Eustace is a top coach who coaches them and sets them up really well.
“But we also have to make sure that we implement our game on them. In the moments we had with the ball, I thought we were electric, and without the ball we were just a pleasure to watch.”
The Imps’ work without the ball was evident in the opening goal, with pressure on the Derby defence eventually leading to Ben House finding the net.
City then doubled their advantage through Dom Jefferies following an incisive move which Cohen felt encapsulated the collective nature of the performance.
He said: “The whole goal was something we’d spoken about. We knew they were going to come and try to take the ball off us high up the pitch and put numbers against us.
“We knew that if we could make five or six really clean passes, with good dynamic movements, we could create a three-v-three on the top line.
“Then Conor McGrandles goes about 40 yards to win the second ball, which people might not notice. Freddie has the magic moment and Dom will get all the accolades he deserves, but there’s a load of stuff before that where the whole team were heavily involved.”
Derby reduced the deficit before the interval, but Cohen was encouraged by the way his players responded and managed the second half.
He said: “It’s never nice when someone rifles one into the top corner from 30 yards, but I don’t think that affected the lads’ mentality or what we were trying to do.
“Although we spent a lot of time without the ball in the second half, in the moments we did have it I thought we created big chances again. On another day, maybe we could have scored more.”
City will now prepare for their Championship opener at Middlesbrough, and Cohen is looking forward to another great backing.
He added: "The support here was incredible. To have more than 2,000 of them behind us for an away game gave the players a massive lift.
“They were loud from the first minute and stayed with the team throughout, and you could see how much the players appreciated that at the end.
“We know how important they’re going to be for us this season, so to share a win like that with them was really special.
“We know it’s just one performance and that going away to Middlesbrough is going to stress us just as much, if not more, next Saturday. Nobody is getting ahead of themselves, but the fans have got a massive role to play for us this season."
