Michael Appleton has revealed that he's learnt part of his managerial trade from one of the very best in the business; former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Speaking to Lincolnshire Live, the 43-year-old revealed he got some excellent experience from being close to the United legend during his time at Old Trafford.
He takes charge of his first game at Sincil Bank this evening against Manchester United Under 21s, having also faced his former club Blackpool at the weekend. He saw plenty of success during his time with the Premier League giants, something that helped set up his career.
"It was an incredible time obviously it was a good period to be at the club because it was around about the time where they started winning things again and being really successful," he said.
"I remember the first time we won the Premier League and it was an incredible evening. Mind you having said that we’d already the league by the time we had the game against Blackburn with the result the night before."
Those experiences certainly helped put Appleton on the right path as a young player and it's something he hopes comes through in his own management style at Sincil Bank.
"I hope I’ve carried that [the high standards] across into my management, I say to the players all the time you’ve got no God-given right to win a game of football – no one has.
"The one thing you have got a God-given right to is to work as hard as the opposition. Be enthusiastic, give energy to the game and make sure you’re playing the game at your full stretch and playing in the red zone."
Lincoln are currently 12th in League One but won the EFL Trophy back in 2018. Michael Appleton took Oxford to the final in 2016 and 2017, meaning there's only been one season in four where either Lincoln or their current manager have not featured at Wembley.
The Verdict
Michael Appleton has a huge job on his hands, replacing Danny Cowley. The outgoing manager took the Imps from the depths of despair to the top of League One, but that era is now over.
Little will be gleaned from tonight. Fringe players might get a game and in terms of energy, the young players of United will have plenty of questions for some of Lincoln's older players, but the serious business resumes on Saturday against Sunderland.
If Lincoln get that right, then it'll give the new manager a huge boost, wherever he started out his career.
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