Michael Appleton has revealed the half-time hair dryer treatment he gave to his players in the second leg of the play-off semi-final.
The Black Cats came flying out of the blocks and had Lincoln penned back in their own half for the majority of the opening 45 minutes.
The Imps can find themselves fortunate to have not been behind in the tie after Michael Salisbury waved away a stonewall penalty when Alex Palmer brought down Ross Stewart just before the break.
Appleton said he's not an old school manager who "rollicks" his players all the time but felt it was necessary at the break.
Speaking to Lincolnshire Live he said: "I was annoyed at half-time, the players know that. It’s dangerous sometimes. I’m not an old school manager who rollicks his players all the time. I’ve not had to do it too much this year but I felt half-time was the right time because I just didn’t recognise us in the first half.
“I have to give them [Sunderland] credit, they pressed the life out of us and made it very difficult for us. The crowd got on top of us as well.
“It was an incredible experience for the young players but I wanted to make the point at half-time ‘look, you have to show personality, you have to go back to what you’ve been doing all season, being brave, getting on the ball and showing what a good side you are’.
"It felt like there were 40,000 fans in there. I said to them, if you want to play higher, when you’re put under intense pressure every week, you’re going to have deal with this type of situation. To be fair they did.
“The only disappointment I had was that I thought we should have won the game with the big chances we had.
“A very emotional day, very excitable. I don’t show many emotions, as you know, but I certainly showed it at the final whistle.
“I’ve got a smile on my face. We’ve got a game [against Blackpool] to look forward to, but tonight it’s about enjoying the moment and the experience we’ve been through today.”
