Danny Mandroiu at 'crossroads' after red card, says Lincoln boss Mark Kennedy
- Published
Danny Mandroiu was sent off by referee Rebecca Welch
Lincoln City boss Mark Kennedy says midfielder Danny Mandroiu could become "just another statistic" unless he changes his approach to the game.
The 24-year-old was sent off following a 55th-minute tackle on Josh Gordon during their 1-0 home defeat by Burton.
It means he will be suspended for three upcoming matches.
"To get the red card so quickly after my hard conversations with him is mind-boggling for me to understand," Kennedy told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
Mandroiu joined the Imps from Irish club Shamrock Rovers in the summer of 2022 and has made 34 league appearances for the club, nine of them this season.
His sending off followed yellow cards in three of the previous four games and Kennedy said he was now at a "massive crossroads" in his career.
"We're here to educate him and help him, not destroy his talent. I don't know where he'll be in five years, he could be in the Championship, he could be back in Ireland," Kennedy added.
"If he changes his mentality and there's structure to his game, he's got incredible talent and he can go wherever he wants to go - but if he doesn't change that, he'll just be another statistic.
"He's a really good professional, he's a really good person. I'm just trying to educate him that the higher you go up, the more structured it is, the more detailed it is.
"When you look at the top managers, the top teams, they play with incredible discipline which Danny doesn't have in his game but he's got the capabilities to change that, so the ball's in his court."
An own goal by Jack Burroughs three minutes after Mandroiu's dismissal condemned Lincoln to defeat and left them 16th in League One.
Kennedy said that although shocked at the time, on reflection he could not argue with the red card, which had changed the course of the match.
"I think with 11 on, we win the game. I was really pleased to that point," he added.
"I don't want any player to fall by the wayside through a lack of discipline or a lack of intelligence.
"If you don't make it in football, I would pray and hope it's because you're not good enough, not through something that's pretty easy to fix - and I'm not talking about Danny, I'm talking generally.
"I've seen some incredible young talents who are just statistics today, for whatever reason, most of it boils down to mentality and attitude.
"We're talking about players who had the capabilities to go on and have really good careers but this is what sometimes lets them down. I've been in football since 1992 and seen it many times and unfortunately when the penny drops, it's normally too late."