Mark Kennedy: Lincoln City 'not getting carried' away in Papa Johns Trophy
- Published
Lincoln City are 16th in the League One table
Boss Mark Kennedy says no-one at Lincoln City will be distracted by the prospect of closing in on a trip to Wembley when they host Accrington in the Papa Johns Trophy quarter-finals.
The Imps have frequented the national stadium in recent years, winning the EFL Trophy there in 2018 before losing the League One play-off final in 2021.
Kennedy says a return "has not been discussed" going into Tuesday's tie.
"We don't allow players to look too far ahead or get carried away," he said.
"It's not something we talk about. We have heavily geared our season around game by game.
"If ever we thought people were getting above their station, we would bring them back to earth - just like people would do with me, I expect.
"We are just focused on the game and when we focus on the game we are heavily focused on ourselves."
Lincoln won their group to progress in the competition, then got past Morecambe on penalties before beating Everton's under-21 side 4-2 to set up the home meeting with Accrington in the last eight.
The Imps, however, go into the knockout tie looking for their first win of 2023, with their 2-1 defeat by Charlton at the weekend their third loss in a five-game winless run in all competitions.
Kennedy expects a tough night against Accrington and hopes his side has learned from their 1-1 draw with the Lancashire club earlier this season.
"They played some really good football and I thought they managed the game superbly with their dark arts," Kennedy told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
"They didn't do anything wrong, I'd like to see us be better at that side of the game."