We caught up with Gary Simpson this morning as he prepared to take Thursday's training ahead of the weekend trip to Dagenham & Redbridge.

The Caretaker Manager readily admits it has been a tough few weeks, none more so than this one. But he insists, as hard as it may sound, that it has to be a case of business as usual as he looks to secure the Silkmen's League Two status for next season.

That was exemplified by the fact that just over 24 hours after attending Keith's funeral, Gary was back in Lincoln to cast an eye over Saturday's opponents as they fought out a 1-1 draw with the Imps at Sincil Bank.

"Of course it's been a tough couple of weeks," explained Gary. "How could it not have been?"

"We've all experienced a massive loss and that will take some time to come to terms with. But Keith would have been the first person to have expected it to be 'business as usual'. That's football and he would have been disappointed had I not done so."

"Tuesday night was an opportunity to have another look at Dagenham. They've got some very good players and I saw nothing to suggest we want be involved in a tough battle at their place at the weekend."

"But we've proven in the last three games we have an excellent strength of character and that hopefully will stand us in good stead for this latest challenge. It's not made easier by the fact we have been hit hard by injury. It looks like we'll be without Ricky Sappleton, Paul Bolland and Colin Daniel in addition to the more longstanding injuries."

"Carl Tremarco is close to a return but he's lacking match fitness. Izak Reid again is close and we may end up having to ask him to play. It's not ideal but we find ourselves in this situation and there's nothing much we can do about it."

Any hopes of bringing in a few new faces?

Realistically no but it won't stop us looking. I had hoped to have Richard Butcher back but I am not sure whether Lincoln will allow that to happen. We'll have to wait and see. But on the flip side it will certainly be a chance for some of the younger lads and those who haven't been featuring.

We've a few forwards in the first team squad who I am sure will get a run out in the coming weeks. Goalscoring has been our problem and perhaps its time to look at other options. We'll have to wait and see.

What are your thoughts on the current crop of youngsters?

John's (Askey) been doing a great job and I am sure we'll be looking at taking on a few next year. I've seen a fair bit of them as they've played in a lot of our reserve games and there is undoubtedly some potential that we need to nurture.

Is it just a case of securing league safety?

If I was being blunt, yes. It's vital that we are playing League Two football next season and that has what has been uppermost in my thoughts since we lost Keith. The seven points we have picked up in the last three games will I am sure prove vital and I am confident we will and the sooner we do so the better. It would be great for the fans if we could go on a mini run and not have to keep looking over our shoulder.

Have you set a points' target?

I'm not one for doing that although they say that you should always aim for fifty points. That's the figure we spoke about at training the other day. But I suspect it will be a bit lower than that this season. The most important thing is that we just keep picking up points and showing the same commitment as we have done so in the last couple of weeks. If we do that I am sure we'll achieve our aim long before the last game of the season at Lincoln.

And what about Gary and your future?

To be honest I haven't really had time to think about it that much. All I am worrying about for now is this football club. Let's get a few more points on the board and we can then start to think about the future.

What I would say is that I was heavily involved, along with Keith, in bringing most of these players to the football club. Out of loyalty to them it would be nice to sit down with the lads and talk about new contracts and give them a little peace of mind.

The chairman is of course aware of that. For my part I don't think it requires a radical overhaul of the squad. Keith and I had spoken about a few new faces we would like to bring and we both recognise the need to get an out and out goalscorer on the books. But show me a club that isn't trying to do that!