Tom Shaw says City will head to Middlesbrough with belief and no fear as they prepare to begin their Sky Bet Championship campaign.
The Imps travel to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday for their first league fixture following promotion, with head coach Shaw reporting a positive mood in the camp after Saturday's Carabao Cup victory at Derby County.
He said: “The place has been bouncing and there’s some excitement. The professionalism of the lads has been superb, they’ve taken on loads of information and we feel locked and loaded and ready to head north.
“Training this week has been right at the top end of what these lads are capable of.
"Their application has been good right through pre-season, but the new additions, the energy and quality they’ve brought, and then that extra belief the lads got from going to Derby, performing how they did and getting that result, has really lifted the place.”
Shaw is under no illusions about the size of the challenge awaiting City at the Riverside Stadium, but believes there are areas his side can exploit.
He said: “We’re not naive to this. They’re an excellent football side. There are a couple of parts of the game where they’re outstanding and can really hurt you, but we’ve recognised a few bits in their make-up that we think we can affect.
“It’s going to be a very tough fixture and a very tough opening game for our Championship campaign, but we’ve definitely grown in confidence from the Derby experience.
“We feel we can hurt them in a few areas. There are things that really suit how we play and can have a massive effect against Middlesbrough.”
City will be backed by around 2,200 travelling Imps on Teesside, and Shaw believes his players will embrace the occasion.
He said: “The noise at Derby was incredible and I think the supporters will make even more of it at Middlesbrough, with it being the first league game. We know we’ll have another big backing.
“The lads will thrive in that environment because we’ve got big personalities in the group. We’ve got lads who are humble but back themselves and know they’re good players.
“We will be perceived as the underdog and I understand that, but we won’t play like it. We’ll play with belief and no fear.
“The grit, resilience and determination in this group is huge. We’ve recruited new players who’ve got loads of that to join us and we’ve got a bank of learning from our recent experiences.
“There’ll be respect for Kim Hellberg and his team and what they’re capable of, but no fear at three o’clock.
“At 2.58pm everybody is within their rights to have a little look around and drink it all in. Look at the trajectory of this football club to now be pitting our wits against Middlesbrough on the first day.
“But at 3pm, it’s a game of football that we’re going to try to win, and everybody should be really excited about that.”
