Lincoln City head coach Chris Cohen said both Tom Hamer and Conor McGrandles had already apologised the morning after the game for their red cards against West Ham United on Wednesday night.
Hamer was sent off after just three minutes for a late challenge on Joël Veltman.
McGrandles followed in the 23rd minute for bringing down Jarrod Bowen as he went through on goal.
This left Lincoln with nine men for most of the match, which West Ham won 6-0.
The second half turned into a rout for the Hammers, who moved up to third place in the Championship table.
Red cards won’t define Lincoln pair
Cohen made clear that the pair’s past contributions would not be overlooked because of the incident:
“Both players have come in and apologised already this morning. But Tom and Conor have had monster roles to play in our success over the last few years, and one mistake or one misplaced bit of judgement isn’t going to define either of those two.
“They’re incredible professionals and incredible people.”
Cohen did not dispute either red card and agreed they were justified after reviewing them:
“I think both red cards were deserved, watching them back.
“Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, Tom’s might not have been a red card, but it is a red card.
“Obviously, Conor has a decision to make when Bowen’s going through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and instinct probably made him pull him back.
“There’s not one part of us saying they’re not red cards.”
Contrasting form for Lincoln and West Ham
Cohen also stressed continued support for the players:
“As we’ve just said about the fans backing us when we needed them, we’ll always be there for our players when they need us.
“They’re obviously going to have a spell out, but it was one lack of judgement from both of them that we’re not going to vilify too much.”
Lincoln City have still not won at Sincil Bank this season, and it’s three games without a win for the Imps.
They will need to find an upturn soon, but the same can’t be said for the Irons with Nuno’s team sitting in third place going into Saturday’s meeting with Swansea City.
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