NIGEL Clough says that despite Lincoln’s poor current form that the Brewers know what they are capable of.
Lincoln haven’t won since they beat Blackpool on January 18, but they beat the Brewers at the Pirelli Stadium back in December.
The Imps are currently 17th in the table, five places and eight points behind the Brewers ahead of Saturday’s visit to Sincil Bank.
The club were promoted to league One under the Cowley brothers but when they left appointed Michael Appleton as manager.
Clough said: “Losing their management team was massive for them. That was the crucial part of the season and it’s going to take time after that, especially when they have been a good few years there and they have established their way of playing. Michael Appleton has come in and it takes time to get things working your way. But they will be comfortable this season and then it’s a case of putting things in place and the new style of playing and next season they are more than capable of being right up there.
“They have been a bit inconsistent, but they were very good when they played us and gained a lot of confidence from an early goal. You wouldn’t have said they would be where they are in the league now after that performance. That shows the two sides to them – they are where they are for a reason, but they are also more than capable of putting on a performance.
“They have a big enough squad and when the crowd gets behind them, they are one of those clubs primed to go onto the next level when they get everything sorted. They have had a big rise coming up the leagues under the Cowley brothers and they will be looking to take it on from there and we certainly know the quality of the players they have.
“They had to stop selling season tickets in the summer and there’s a waiting list which shows the potential and support they have.”
But Clough will still be targeting three points and believes his team are playing well on the road and are more than capable of winning.
“It’s away from home where we have continued to create chances and score goals. It’s funny how it works out and we have really struggled to score at home at times but have been free scoring on the road. It would be nice to get another goal and three points. We need a clean sheet as well, as that’s been our downfall. You look at the teams that succeed and you see how many 1-0s they have, and we haven’t had enough of those.”