Tom Shaw praised the bravery of his players after City produced an impressive display to draw with Southampton at the ProAmpac Stadium.
The Imps had to come from behind against the Saints, with Mikkel Ladefoged opening his account for the club to earn a point after the visitors had taken the lead through a stunning Welington strike.
Shaw was proud of the way his side went toe-to-toe with their opponents. He said: “I thought the fight in the group was excellent. Some of the new players showed the spirit that we know the players from last year have got, so that was incredibly encouraging.
“I feel a little bit frustrated that we’ve not taken more than a point, to be honest. I think the feel of the game, and then the stats and the data, back that up – we were good value for three points.
“But it’s important for all of us - coaches, players, fans, everybody - to keep a bit of context. We’ve played Southampton here, who were set to go to the Premier League last year. For our boys to make it as uncomfortable as they did in quite a few spells of that game makes me very proud.”
City showed plenty of attacking intent throughout the afternoon and responded strongly after falling behind, with Shaw particularly pleased by the fearlessness shown by both his starting XI and those introduced from the bench.
He said: “The lads who came on understood the game plan, understood the scenario at that point and just went and attacked everything.
“I thought they were fearless when they came onto the pitch, and the starting group were the same. It can be easy when you’re dubbed from the outside world as one of the favourites for the relegation places to be a little bit fearful of teams like Southampton, but I didn’t see any of our lads or staff take one step backwards in the build-up.
“Myself and Chris are very proud of the group of players and staff, just perhaps a little bit annoyed that we’ve not taken two more points.”
Ladefoged provided the decisive touch for City, heading home an excellent delivery from Reeco Hackett to score his first goal for the Imps.
Shaw believes the forward has already demonstrated the qualities he can bring as he continues to adapt to Championship football.
He said: “His first goal is a big moment for him and a big moment for his journey at the club.
“He’s a lovely footballer. He’s got a nice feel, some nice touches around the goal and he’s a nice finisher.
“We’ve got to help him, and he’s got to figure out what the Championship is and how aggressive people are and how they get up against you. He’s got to get super fit and develop his understanding of the level and how we play, but around the penalty area, in his two cameos, I think he’s been excellent.”
The result completed a productive eight days for the Imps, with City collecting five Championship points, and Shaw felt the home support had played an important role.
He said: “This place has been brilliant. The noise on Tuesday and the noise today – we have to generate it with our performance and the feel of the game, but the noise has been amazing, probably louder than I’ve ever heard it.
“We wanted to make it really uncomfortable for what is a top team and I think everyone will go away thinking we did that.”
City now turn their attention to Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup third-round trip to Premier League AFC Bournemouth.
Shaw added: “It’s a quick turnaround. We’re off down the road to test our wits against a very good Premier League team.
“It’s a really exciting game for us and we’ll do everything we can to give ourselves the best chance of a bit of a cup upset.”
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