HARRY’S GAME
Lincoln defender Harry Toffolo on the Imps’ title ambition
LINCOLN’S Harry Toffolo says he has no regrets about quitting Norwich – despite seeing pals Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons blossom into Championship stars.
Toffolo, 23, spent ten years at Carrow Road but left to join Millwall in January 2018 after failing to play a single first-team game.
Unused at The Den, he has since rebooted his career in League Two under the tutelage of Danny Cowley.
Meanwhile, Norwich boss Daniel Farke has put his trust in youth to spectacular effect, with the performances of Aarons, 19, and Lewis, 21, firing the Canaries to within touching distance of a place in the Premier League.
“I’ve got massive respect for what Daniel has done with the youth players,” says Toffolo, a dad of two. “Max, Jamal, Todd Cantwell - they are all lads I played with and they’ve suddenly just shone.
Ability
“I trained with them in the Under-21s and you could see the ability. We all knew that they’d probably be the ones who came through.
“But you’ve got to seize the opportunity and they absolutely have. To make the impact they have is testament to them and to the academy at Norwich.
“Do I ever think ‘What if?’. No - I’ve never lived my life like that. In professional football, there are probably a thousand other people gunning for your spot. Young lads coming through, players out of contract - all of them would love to be in my position now. I’m just immensely grateful to be playing football, and at a great club.”
A great club in great form. Unbeaten since early December, the Imps have been top of League Two for all but six weeks of the season and travel to Mansfield for tomorrow’s televised clash with a comfortable cushion to fourth place.
“We’ve got three wins on the bounce now,” says the left-back, who scored his third goal of the season in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Oldham. “Confidence is flying. It’s a derby game as well, with a lot of history between the two clubs.
“To have it on Sky is brilliant and I’m sure the fans will give us that extra ten per cent. But we won’t need any extra motivation, believe me.
“Resilient and relentless – that’s what the manager drums into us. We came in in pre-season and the goal was to win the league. Nothing else mattered.
“We’re not even bothered about top three – we’re looking to win the league.”
That bloody-minded determination is typified by John Akinde, the hulking bull of a centre-forward who has formed an unconventional large-and-large partnership with veteran Matt Rhead.
Beast
“John’s a beast, an absolute tank,” says Toffolo of Lincoln’s 15-goal top scorer. “He’ll occupy so many defenders. I remember seeing one game where he was being marked by two central midfielders and two centre-halves - all by himself !
“Obviously, that means there’s a lot of people in space. I’m grateful to John, because I get room to bomb on. Same for the wingers and the lads on the other side.
“He’s been effective from the spot, scoring penalties in crucial games. He’s also an all-round good bloke, which really helps the group. And he’s always on at me to get on his gym programme so I think he’s got a very good job as a physical trainer after football!”
Win tomorrow and promotion to League One will inch a step closer. For Toffolo, though, that should not represent the limit of Lincoln’s ambition. “If you go round and look at our facilities, it’s a Championship football club,” he says.
“The training ground, the stadium, the management team. We get over 9,000 consistently at home games. We’ll take 3,000 to away games if they’ll give us the allocation.
“You look in the Premier League and Bournemouth are averaging what, 10,000 this season? I think Lincoln would get far more than that.
“It’s a club that deserves to be further up but to achieve that we have to focus on one job at a time.”