Mark Kennedy has identified former Pompey favorite Matt Clarke as the inspiration for Lincoln to bounce back from disappointment at Fratton.
The Imps boss believes his side’s 2-1 defeat was avoidable, with defensive errors dooming them as they lost in the league for the first time since matchday one
.Kennedy worked with Clarke at Ipswich, before moving to Pompey in 2015 and starting to become a £4m player.
The former Liverpool player shared how the defender went through a similar phase where he made different mistakes, which helped him become a better player.
This was the lesson he thought Lincoln must learn from his defeat against Fratton.
He said on Lincoln’s YouTube channel:
“The only thing that warms my heart about mistakes is that they are different people.
“If those guys make the same mistakes and you keep playing them, there’s obviously a problem with the head coach.
If those are different mistakes…
“I miss Matt Clarke at Ipswich.
Matt moved to Brighton for millions of pounds and probably played 200 games.
“I remember every week at Ipswich in the 23s, Clarkey conceded a goal – but this time it was different.
“I just told him that as long as he learns from everyone he will get better – and he has had an exceptional car
“It’s the same environment we have at Lincoln – it’s just a stronger foundation.
Lincoln almost leveled the scores in stoppage time, when Will Norris came to Pompey’s rescue with a vital save from close range to deny Paudie O’Connor as Adam Jackson followed up.
Kennedy added:
“It looks like this line has been deleted.
“It’s ironic because we brought Jacko here at the end of last year and he had an incredible opportunity to score with his head.
“But I thought Jacko was outstanding today, he was really outstanding.
“That sums him up, because you can see his frustration on the field.
“He had his head in his hands after the game, but we didn’t put him in the team to score goals, so there’s no criticism of that – it was a difficult technical action.
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