Mark Kennedy is taking great pride from the way his side fought at Southampton.
City bowed out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening after a tightly contested fourth round tie which saw Southampton come from behind to beat the Imps 2-1.
He said: “I thought our players were incredible. They showed real bravery in and out of possession. Their work rate, discipline and attitude were phenomenal. I thought the only thing we didn’t get was the scoreline.
“The players should be very proud of themselves. The big thing we wanted to do, because we knew we had brought a big following, was to give them a performance they could be proud of. I think they got that, but it’s just unfortunate we could not give them the result.
“I thought we caused them problems in many areas, and I thought Carl Rushworth had a quiet night with the exception of the last five minutes when Southampton had two really good chances.”
Kennedy is taking the positives from going toe to toe against a full-strength Premier League side and will be using them to build on heading into a busy period of festive football.
He continued: “I hope, result aside, that it’s evidence of what we are doing, where the team is, and where we can go. They deserve all the credit for that. From my short period since I have been at the club, I think they’ve regularly shown that we are on the right path.
“Southampton went as strong as they could with the players they had available - that was their first-team. We are now back focusing on the league as ultimately that’s our goal going forward. It will be a different type of game on Boxing Day but we know it will be equally as hard as Burton are a good side.”
Click HERE to watch City at Burton Albion on Boxing Day in Sky Bet League One.