The Football League Paper

NEW IMPS DEAL FOR APPLETON

- By Jamie Holt

MICHAEL Appleton is looking forward to seeing what the future holds at Lincoln after committing his future to the club.

The 45-year-old, who arrived at Sincil Bank in September 2019, has signed a new four-year deal.

He said: “I’m excited and looking forward to being part of the progressio­n made by the football club.

“I have many thanks to Clive (Nates, chairman) and everyone on the board, and to everyone who has been able to follow the team in what’s been a difficult season for all supporters.”

ELIJAH Adebayo is grateful to chief recruitmen­t officer Mick Harford for helping him settle in at Luton following his arrival from Walsall.

The 23-year-old striker scored his first goal in the 1-1 midweek draw against Millwall.

Adebayo said: “Mick has been talking to me every day. Talking about my game, helping me with little things.

“I think the main thing we wanted to work on was headed goals because Mick was a good header of the ball, so we spoke about that and he said ‘when you get in those positions, make sure you’re heading it down’.

“He has been saying to me, keep it simple, work hard, but you will get your chance and when you do, just take your opportunit­y.”

Luton boss Nathan Jones does not want to put too much pressure on Adebayo.

“Where he’s come from, to step up to the Championsh­ip level is going to take time,” said Jones.

“I think it was necessary to do it (make changes against Millwall) because we’ve had a lot of players that have done fantastica­lly well, for the duration of the time that they’ve been here.

“They’re tired and we had to freshen stuff up. But don’t forget how well those players have done”

QPR striker Charlie Austin has given his full backing to a campaign to encourage football fans who have had Covid-19 to register as blood plasma donors.

The R’s, Blackburn, Watford and Northampto­n, plus four Premier League teams, have already asked their fans to #BeTheDiffe­rence by signing up to Plasma FC online.

Plasma from those who have had coronaviru­s contains antibodies that could help others fight the virus and is being collected by NHS Blood and Transplant to support research into new treatments.

Forward Austin, 31, said: “I’m a fit and healthy guy, I’m a profession­al athlete, but coronaviru­s absolutely wiped me out. I’m lucky that I recovered without any issues and am still here playing today, but that’s the thing about Covid – it’s different for everyone.

“Someone we know could be the next person who needs new treatments to be found which could help save their life. We’ve never had a more important role to play so I hope the football community comes together to get behind plasma donation.”

Fans can support Plasma FC by following their club’s social media channels and sharing the Plasma FC film via #BeTheDiffe­rence. To sign up, anyone aged over 17 years who has tested positive for Covid-19 or had symptoms can register online to donate plasma at www. nhsbt.nhs.uk.

 ??  ?? GRATEFUL: Elijah Adebayo
GRATEFUL: Elijah Adebayo

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