Chris Sutton has challenged his players to stake their claim for a starting berth in the Imps' League Two opener at Rotherham United in 10 days' time.

The 37-year-old leads his side into their penultimate friendly, against Norwich City, at Sincil Bank tonight (7.30pm) still with seeds of doubt in his mind over his starting XI for the match at the Don Valley Stadium.

While back in full training, Adam Watts has not played a competitive League game since breaking his leg at Grimsby in February, so Sutton is shorn of bodies at the heart of defence, with Paul Green and Moses Swaibu the Imps' only other central defensive cover.

Sutton has dilemmas of a different kind further up the park with the likes of Albert Jarrett, Mustapha Carayol and Gavin McCallum swelling his attacking options.

Jarrett and Carayol, in particular, have impressed so far in pre-season and while Sutton will not say it, the wing duo look certain picks for the former Norwich striker on August 7.

Scott Kerr, Clark Keltie, Josh O'Keefe and possibly Shane Clarke look set to battle it out for the two central midfield positions, while target men Drewe Broughton and Delroy Facey will be eager to impress Sutton as they look for a spot alongside McCallum.

Some players have performed better than others in pre-season but that is not too much of a concern for Sutton.

"I would not say there is anything set in stone for the game against Rotherham and there is some competition for places," said Sutton.

"Some players have got to think about doing a bit better but that is natural at the start of the season.

"In many ways I don't want the players to be on top of their game at the moment. I want them to be building up to the game on August 7 so they can hit the ground running.

"I will be tinkering with this and that but the important thing is we put in a strong performance against Norwich and then look forward to the County Cup game at Grimsby on Friday, before the game at Rotherham a week on Saturday."

IN YOUR ECHO: The full interview with Chris Sutton.