Our trip to Lincoln tomorrow should bring back happy memories of last season's 4-2 success there, which constituted a record win in a place that holds a good history, for us.
Our last nine League visits have yielded four wins and four draws, and is actually one draw better than our home record against them in the same period.
Our team will not feature the suspended Alan Goodall. He probably shares with Darren Carr the club record for the earliest suspension for accumulation of yellows from the start of the season, and the fact that players have already missed eight Town games through suspension this season is something that needs tightening up. Two alternatives come straight to mind; either to move Gregor Robertson back to left-back, or play Phil Picken there.
The former would offer Darren Currie a way back to the left, where he looked more productive in the second half against Chester. Although we're not accustomed to seeing him there, and it is not his "best" position, Derek Niven brought something to right midfield against Chester, and it would be interesting to see him given a run there. All this is speculation, of course, and some of it depends on Robertson shrugging off the effects of a "dead leg" before the kick-off.
We will expect to renew acquaintances with Janos Kovacs for the first time since he left in the summer. We fans appreciated Janos' strengths, but we hope our players remember his weaknesses, too! Lincoln City have a full squad to choose from, after Stefan Oakes and Frank Sinclair came through a midweek reserve match. Lincoln started the season by losing their first three games but rallied, and find themselves in that now-traditional position for our opponents: poised to overtake us, if they win.
They've won only once in five at home but are unbeaten in their last three, showing the same patchy form that currently bedevils us.
Tomorrow's referee is not Mr Lee Probert, who has been mysteriously transferred to another fixture, but will be Mr Michael Jones, of Cheshire. His most recent games in charge of us are the home defeat to Milton Keynes last season, and our 1-4 defeat at Oldham in 2005-6.
As always, Spireites World will cover the game live, for anyone unable to make it to Sincil Bank.
