Michael Appleton warned his Lincoln players it is too early to get ahead of themselves after a hard-fought 1-0 win at 10-man Portsmouth took the Imps top of the table.

Manchester City loanee Morgan Rogers’ first goal for the club 11 minutes from time was enough to earn Appleton’s men the points after Jack Whatmough had been sent off in the first half.

A cautious Appleton said: “We are happy to be top but it is only halfway through the season.

“We have to keep putting in effort and hard work to make sure we stay there.

“Sometimes it is more difficult against 10 men than 11, especially against a really well organised side who want to defend deep anyway. We had to be patient.”

Centre-back Whatmough was shown a straight red card for a two-footed tackle on Jorge Grant to leave Pompey facing a tough task to get anything from the game.

Tom Hopper came close to giving Lincoln the lead two minutes before half-time when he headed against the crossbar.

Grant and Liam Bridcutt also tested Pompey goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray before match-winner Rogers finally broke the deadlock from close range.

The closest Pompey came to an equaliser was when Republic of Ireland winger Ronan Curtis saw his header from debutant Charlie Daniels’ corner cleared off the line.

Portsmouth manager Kenny Jackett vowed to appeal against Whatmough’s dismissal, which came just four days after the defender scored two own goals against Hull.

Jackett said: “I was surprised that it was a red, I was expecting a yellow card at the time.

“While I always respect the referee’s decision, we will be appealing.

“I assessed it at the time, it was a gut feeling if you like. But then, looking at it after, whether he feels Jack played the man as well as the ball, it’s quite clear on the replay he got the ball.

“He may deem it a yellow, he may deem it a good tackle, but in my opinion, I didn’t think it was a red.

“It’s hard to not comment on an incident which has clarified the game.

“Following the sending-off, I did feel we battled bravely and did a lot of good things and were unlucky not to get a goal at the end.”

Appleton disagreed with Jackett’s assessment of Whatmough’s dismissal, however.

He said: “It does not matter from what angle you look at it; the lad has come off the floor with both feet.

“It is two teams near the top of the league and it should be competitive. There was a bit of passion from both sides.”