NOT for the first time in his Eastleigh career, Michael Green put the team cause ahead of personal comfort at Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday.

The popular 25-year-old left-back has been struggling with a strained muscle in his backside and, according to manager Richard Hill, should not have played in the 1-1 draw at The New Lawn.

But just like the tail end of last season when he defied a hamstring strain to help push the Spitfires over the line in the Conference South title race, Green has impressed Hill with his willingness to fight through the pain barrier.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s Vanarama Conference visit of Lincoln City, Hill said: “We’ll have to wait and see how he is tomorrow but, give Greener credit, one thing I’ll say about him is that he’s prepared to play in discomfort.

“A lot of people think me and Greener don’t get on, but we do. We get on very, very well.

“I’m his biggest critic but that’s because I know Greener has got everything ability-wise to be playing higher.

“Michael Green has everything to not actually be playing for Eastleigh.

“I know people look at me as if I use him as a whipping boy but, like all the other players, if Greener’s not doing the job I think he can do, he needs to be let know and sometimes that comes out when he’s on the pitch.”

Lincoln will be a team on a mission tomorrow, looking to avenge last Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup first round choker when they were floored by Ben Strevens’ last-minute winner at the Silverlake.

“Lincoln are going to be hurt and they’re going to want to set the record straight,” said Hill.

“They’re going to feel they were a little bit unlucky last week, based on their second-half performance, but then we were a bit unlucky to come off at half-time not being three or four-nil up.

“I’d watched Lincoln twice myself and we’d had a scout watch them - that’s how seriously we took them.

“I honestly believe they’re only three points away from going on a good run and being a very good team.”

The Imps are 14th in the Conference, six points adrift of tenth-placed Eastleigh having played two games more.

“Before they played us last week, they drew 3-3 at Forest Green and, at one point, they were 3-0 up. As we know ourselves from the other night, when you come away with a point from Forest Green you’re pretty pleased,” said Hill.

“We took Lincoln seriously last week and we’ll take them seriously again tomorrow. If we don’t, we’ll have our pants pulled down.

“But I don’t have to come out with any fancy Shakespearean quotes to get the lads motivated. My lads are motivated anyway.”

Skipper Dean Beckwith sits out the third of a three-match suspension and Hill has to decide if targetman Craig McAllister – scorer of the opener against Lincoln – will return to the starting line-up.

“Macca suffered sickness and diarrhoea over the weekend which is why he didn’t start on Tuesday,” Hill explained. “Jack Midson’s back (after a shoulder injury) but we’ve still got to be a bit careful with him.”

Lincoln battled out another 3-3 draw at Gateshead on Tuesday, having made two changes from the side beaten at Eastleigh.

Former Basingstoke forward Delano Sam-Yorke was preferred to Jordan Brown up front, while Tom Miller moved across to centre-back to replace the injured Thierry Audel with Jake Caprice coming in at full-back.