Danny Cowley is looking forward to getting 2018 underway with the tough trip to Kenilworth Road today and after a winning finish to a historic year on Saturday, for everyone associated with Lincoln City, he says last year has become a platform to build on as everyone aims to keep up the forward momentum.
"It was a good way to end 2017, it’s been a good year to be a Lincoln City supporter and we can be really proud of the year we’ve had and it has given us a really good foundation for what’s to come." Cowley said.
"It was a hard working, resilient and determined performance, were we at our best? No. But you need to win games when you’re not at your best to be successful.”
The Hatters lie in wait for City next and the manager has nothing but respect for his opponents who represent a real test after a hectic festive period for his team.
“The games come around quick, Luton lost their last game which probably wasn’t the best thing for us, because when they’ve had a couple of disappointing results this season they’ve come back with a real bang. Luton are the best team in this league and have the best players and they’ve got a really clear game plan and that’s credit to Nathan Jones. They’ve got a big budget, a lot of expectation and they’re a big club, it’s one thing having all of those things and all that support both in terms of numbers and finance, it’s what you do with it and they’ve got the best players and game plan and that’s why they’re doing so well.
“They get goals from everywhere, they look to cause problems with their possession and how they like to overload areas and they’re very good at it. But we know those things and for us to play them off the back of four games in nine days, it’s a tough fixture.”
However, in adversity the City manager knows he and his players can thrive, and that was evident in the efforts of his team in 2017, a year which attracted the eyes and admiration of the footballing world. But the work is far from over, and he says his team will continue to give everything until the last ball is kicked in May.
“We look forward to the challenge that the game creates, we like being the underdog, and it happened a lot in the FA Cup last year so we know what that looks like. It will take an effort like the wins we had in those FA Cup games to get on the right side of a very good Luton team.
“To be in around the top seven we have to keep improving to stay competitive, in football you either get criticized or people put you on a pedestal. But we always try to stay grounded and never try to get too high when we win or too low when we lose. We will keep focussed on the process, if we get that right then the results take care of themselves.”