Every word Eckert said on West Ham trip, Downes and Larin fitness and flexibility

Getting better day after day. We'll assess today and he's doing everything to be involved tomorrow.

And Cyle Larin?

It's that part of the hamstring towards the tendon, but it's the same for him that he's trying everything to make it tomorrow.

Is that a different injury to the back?

It's different. The back is fine. That just came from the collision with Gav [Bazunu].

How close are we to seeing a starting Caspar Jander?

Yeah, last week has been, I think, a little bit more than he was supposed to play. But then you see the way he performs and I mean, it looks like he's ready.

And then we took him on the bench against Bolton and that was yeah, more for an emergency, so the clear plan is that he gets a break on Saturday.

He's had a very good week, so he'll be involved tomorrow.

You've tried a couple of different things in the last three games, is this now about finding the balance between your defensive and attacking?

I guess I see that a little bit slightly different in one regard, because if you look at what we have created over the last three games, we have created more than any other team in the Championship from open play.

So I think the quality of chances that we've had, if you only look last three games, has been the highest in the league. At the same time, if you score only two goals, I can understand that there is a different view on it.

But I think that we have created more than enough, especially regarding that we've been a man down for more than a half and had to do some substitutions in another game.

So to be fair, I think our finishing has been exceptional before the international break, probably a little bit better than the chances would have allowed us.

Now I think we've created. So I think that always balances out throughout the season. But for me, there's nothing to worry about on an offensive side and we just take the positives that we manage to keep clean sheets and I'm very sure if we keep creating that we will score a lot more goals.

How important is it to be tactically flexible?

I think that we have played as a base structure out of a 4-2-3-1 most of the games. I think Portsmouth has been the only one where we've decided to start three midfielders and had a slightly different setup but also that one with the goal to get James [Bree] a little bit higher up the pitch and I think that worked quite nice.

I think in the end is the players that are on the pitch that make you play a certain way and I think that there's areas on the pitch where we are very, very strong.

Especially now with Caspar [Jander] coming back into the equation, I think it's my job to find solutions to get certain players on the pitch and also to get them on the pitch together.

But I think it has not been too different in the way that we have set up. It's always a balance of knowing how strong we are and respecting that and, at the same time, taking into consideration what we come up against because I think it's important.

I mean, even if you go into a game as the favourite to win, I I still think that every game deserves some respect towards the opposition that you come up against, and I think many, many games this season have shown how important that is.

And then some slight adjustments that I hope are going to help us to perform and, just like you say, it's about that balance then.

How much do you take from the League Cup game against West Ham going into this weekend?

We do take some bits from it. I think that actually against West Ham in the cup, obviously there's a couple of different players on the pitch on both sides.

Structure-wise, I think there's quite a lot that West Ham is very consistent in, the way they do things, especially against the ball.

I think that we had some good spells in the game and then what the game shows you, and I think that's been a common theme with West Ham this season, is that they make their way into games on a set-piece.

That's not just been against us in the cup. It's been the same in many, many other games and I think that's going to be very important for us that we have our moments in open play and make sure that we become a threat on the set-pieces that we have down the offensive end and make sure that we are solid down the other.

I think until then, we actually played a very good game and that opened up a way for West Ham to find a way back into the game. There were some things in the second half that I didn't like, but that I also think a cup game sometimes brings, as much as you don't want that to happen, but in reality it does sometimes.

It's not the only game that we've looked at, but there are some things to take away from that game as well.

How much of a battle is facing the league's top scorers for your boys tomorrow?

Well, let's hope that we don't have to defend them with nine men. I think that's hard for any team, not just for Lincoln.

I think the Wrexham game was a particular one, but yes, it shows that they have quality going forward and that's why we need to be very good in open play.

We need to be good when we have spells on the ball and I think that they're going to be more than enough if we show up brave on the day.

And the way that we defend, I think that they are slightly different based on who they play up top and if they play with two strikers up top or one and another one that drops down, so we have prepared for both scenarios and the way that they set up.

And then I think a big part of it comes down to set-pieces. If we manage to control that, I think that we have a good chance of playing a good game.

How hard is it to adjust in-game in such a big stadium?

It's a good question and it goes quite deep into the way you prepare. It's my job to prepare for a couple of different scenarios, but not too many, because that needs to be in my head, but not in the head of the players going into the game.

They just need clarity on what they need to do, and at the same time to be ready to make quick decisions in game.

Normally you know, if they do make some adjustments, which part of the team that does affect, so that sometimes our messages that don't go to the whole team, but to the players that you think are going to be affected by changes that they make.

I think that we have quite a few players on the pitch that are capable to have a plan B and C in their head to see on the pitch if they need to adjust. At the same time, it is my job to help them throughout the first half.

Then at half-time, obviously it gives you a little bit more time and with potential substitutions later on and in the second half.

But in the best case, you are prepared for the different scenarios and don't give too much before the game but just enough to some of the players to realise how some potential changes on the other side might affect the way that we swap in games.