Michael Skubala was keen to emphasise the importance of developing the likes of Freddie Draper and Rob Street, ahead of the trip to Wigan Athletic.
Draper came under much scrutiny for his early-season performances, but it appears he has turned a corner in recent weeks. Deployed in an attacking midfield role at times last year, he is thriving with four goal involvements in as many games as the lone striker. Although Street is also playing his part in the Imps’ fluid front four.
And in Michael’s pre-Wigan press conference, he wanted to make clear that time patience is a virtue when it comes to his players.
“They have ups and downs, especially younger players. The consistency of performance is generally what gives you longevity of a career in football.
“I think with some of the younger players, sometimes that takes a loan like Rob and sometimes that takes, Freddie had a couple of loans and that’s why we do it, and other times it doesn’t, like probably Jovon, but you saw his consistency grow as he developed.
“The experienced players know all about that and generally put in good consistent performances, especially for us this season where we’ve seen a lot more consistency, which has been important.”
But it’s not just the performances on the pitch that helps a player develop. The club have made no secret in the past about how much work goes into signing players, like with any team, but it’s also about finding players that fit the ethos and environment that Michael wants to create.
Fans forums and all the other evenings the club puts on will attest to that. And all the work that has gone into the success of this season to date isn’t some fluke, as Michael explains.
“Patience isn’t something that’s out there a lot in football. It’s a high thing to try and aspire to have, but I think this club definitely has it from top to bottom. We’re patient with players when we think they have potential and we can see and nurture the growth.
“We’ve been patient over time with lots of players and how we try to help their development is really important. From the time they come in and we recruit them through Jez and through Joe, they’re never coming in as the end product here.
“That’s probably not something we can do. But we love nothing more than seeing players bounce on and be successful. Even if they’ve left us in the same league, we still have good relationships with all the players that have been here.”
That final point applies to Joe Taylor, albeit he was only a loanee during his time at Sincil Bank. He will be keen to hit the ground running with the Latics after joining on loan from Huddersfield Town earlier this month.
Taylor will be looking to halt City’s fantastic unbeaten streak, which will inevitably come to an end at some point and will really hurt at the time. That will likely be compounded with results elsewhere, with the Imps struggling to shake off their promotion rivals. And the likes of Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers will likely hit a similarly good run of form at some point.
But for the moment, it’s Lincoln who are flying. This current run will be spoken about for years to come if City can complete the journey and reach the Championship.