Putting the recent defeat at Leyton Orient aside, there has been a lot of chatter about League One and the promotion challengers.
Few would have put us, Wimbledon, Stevenage or Bradford among the early pacesetters, but here we are, on the cusp of a big clash with the Bantams.
It’s led to many, including us, wondering if we might be challengers over the course of the season, something that Michael Skubala addressed in his pre-match press conference.
Rather than being bullish, he admitted it might take time for the league to settle down, certainly a little more time than 13 matches.
“I think we’re still not quite settled down yet,” he told Imps+. “I think there’s probably another six or seven games before it settles, because if you look from top to bottom it’s very tight and two points here or there can make a massive jump.
“I think most teams at the moment are just trying to make sure they keep trying to get points on the board. Because I don’t think there’s a massive gap between us and 12th, you know, two wins and two losses, and there’s not a massive gap between the 16th, 17th place and probably the eighth place.
“I do think it’s very congested at the minute, which I actually think is a good thing for us. I think it’s a very good thing for us because you haven’t got one or two teams running away with it. I think when we beat Stevenage, that helps the pack, but there’s no one that’s running away with it. I think that helps us for sure.”
There is an impending threat: clubs such as Blackpool, Rotherham and Wycombe who have had slow starts and are now creeping up the league, along with Bolton and Orient. Michael pointed to a couple of those teams as an example of what could well be a threat to the Imps over the coming weeks.
“Saturday we weren’t quite on it and you get hurt. Leyton Orient are a very good team. They started slow last year and they got in the play-off final. So I’m sure they’ll come. I thought they were a decent outfit. They had some really good forward players.
“You cannot take anyone for granted whether they’re 18th, 19th, 20th at the minute. You only have to look at Blackpool got a win over the weekend, and they’ll start moving. Bolton are starting to move. The league’s really competitive, but I do think teams can beat other teams.
I think it’s really wide open for me at the moment, and that’s why you’re seeing it: you can get a few points and nudge quite a few places because it’s so competitive from top to bottom, which I think is exciting. The other thing is we’ve experienced so many different styles that you play against, and that’s a challenge in itself.
“But up to now, I think we’ve been good. We’ve had a little bit of a dip on Saturday, I think, with the turnover that caused a few problems. We need to get that right, ready for Bradford.”
The Imps have had joy at Valley Parade in recent seasons: a 5-0 win there set up the League Cup tie with Liverpool during COVID, while a 3-0 win in the EFL Trophy was no less convincing.
Our last defeat at Valley Parade came on Boxing Day in 2007, when a last-gasp Barry Conlon goal earned them all three points in our League Two clash, after Lennel John-Lewis had levelled Peter Thorne’s first-minute opener.