It was after a 3-0 victory against promotion rivals Bradford City at the end of January when Lincoln City boss Michael Skubala felt this could be a landmark campaign for his side.
‘We put in a great performance and I said to the coaches that this is a serious team,’ Skubala tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘I knew if we could keep them going and focused, they could do something special.’
Two months on, Lincoln are on the verge of doing just that. They are top of League One, 18 points clear of third-place Bolton, and require just four more points for promotion. Seven points ahead of Cardiff, they are also strong favourites for the title and on an unbeaten run that has reached a club-record 22 league matches.
Lincoln are the division’s top scorers, boast the meanest defence and are closing in on a return to the second tier for the first time since 1961.
Their rise is one of the stories of the season – but it is no accident.
‘We made a plan several years ago and vowed to stick to it,’ says Lincoln chief executive Liam Scully. ‘This isn’t a one-year build, and it’s taken a lot of work from a number of people because it takes a village to have success.’
Lincoln City are top of League One and need just four more points to secure promotion
The Imps’ rise has been one of the stories of the season, but it is the culmination of a long-term plan years in the making
This is a united club where there has long been a quiet confidence they would one day reach the Championship. Yet the rate of progress under Skubala this season has been astonishing given Lincoln have the 17th largest budget in League One.
‘It sounds nuts, but we’ve not really thought about getting X number of points,’ Skubala explains from his office at the club’s impressive training ground on the outskirts of the city. ‘We’ve just attacked every game to try and win it. That’s been the mantra. Then we review it and go again.’
After finishing 11th last season, 17 points off the play-offs, Lincoln have been transformed into potential champions despite losing key players Ethan Erhahon and Jovon Makama last summer.
‘We recruited for the dip we had last season in the winter,’ Skubala says. ‘We struggled with injuries, so we addressed that with numbers and quality – and then we didn’t have the dip. We’ve always started well and finished strong throughout my tenure, but this time we managed that middle part of the season.’
Experienced additions such as Sonny Bradley and Adam Reach have complemented emerging talents like Ukrainian Under-21s midfielder Ivan Varfolomeev, who has become increasingly influential over the campaign after joining for a record fee from Czech side Slovan Liberec – while Lincoln’s clear game plan and clarity of ‘what a Lincoln City player looks like’, as Skubala puts it, has ensured the team have thrived.
Recruitment follows a clear process and is data-led and disciplined. In January, Lincoln rejected opportunities to sign some players as they wanted to protect the squad balance and their wage structure.
Meanwhile, Alfie Lloyd endured a mixed spell at Leyton Orient during the first half of the season and failed to score, but Lincoln felt the forward had the traits and character to fit into their team, particularly with his workrate and energy. Character references, a crucial part of the process, backed this up – and he has proved a popular addition after joining on January 19.
Skubala has also fostered a strong culture, with clarity of roles and high standards driving consistency. That spirit was evident in a recent comeback from 2-0 down at Huddersfield to preserve their unbeaten run and it has been boosted by team bonding events, including a paddle boarding trip in pre-season.
In truth, this has been a real team effort; top scorer Reeco Hackett has just nine goals, while 20 different players have scored across all competitions.
‘It sums up how important everybody is,’ Skubala adds. ‘We score through different methods and we defend with everybody. We give the players a plan of how to win every game and they’ve been sensational at executing those plans.’
Lincoln CEO Liam Scully joined the club in 2017 and has helped oversee their impressive rise
Top scorer Reeco Hackett (left) has nine league goals, with Lincoln’s achievements a real team effort
Skubala has also fostered a strong culture and Lincoln fought back from 2-0 down at Huddersfield earlier this month to preserve their club-record unbeaten run in the league
Off the pitch, Lincoln’s structure underpins their progress. Employees are encouraged to think big and the club’s ‘make the boat go faster’ philosophy – inspired by a book from former Olympic gold-medallist rower Ben Hunt-Davis – ensures every department contributes to the club’s overall mission.
‘We’ve always wanted to develop the club and have a balanced scoreboard,’ adds Scully, who admits things are ‘unrecognisable’ from his arrival in 2017. ‘We didn’t want one area to be so far ahead, and we don’t just chase the sexy stuff, rather we’re trying to change the club and its base over decades.’
That approach is reflected in the club’s elite performance centre (EPC), a legacy of Lincoln’s memorable run to the FA Cup quarter-finals as a non-League side in 2017. It continues to improve and helps attract players.
A new analysis room was installed ahead of the campaign and performance tracking boards cover walls in the canteen. This includes measuring statistics like clean sheets, home wins, goal contributions from substitutes and set-piece goal difference. Photos of memorable moments in the club’s history are also on display around the building. These all help to reinforce daily standards.
Investment and transfer income is spread across the club, from infrastructure to staffing, rather than focusing solely on the playing budget. Earlier this season the coaching staff spent a day with the Red Arrows to learn how to progress their high-performance environment. A highly advanced Anti-Gravity Treadmill was a recent addition to the on-site gym, which is full of first-team players on our visit.
Skubala’s staff each work across different parts of the pitch, and he can count on a strong analysis team. Last season, for example, analysts spotted the aggressive positioning of Bolton goalkeeper Nathan Baxter on free-kicks. After relaying this information at half-time, Hackett went on to score an ingenious long-distance free-kick.
Lincoln have also leant into innovation, using AI to maximise set-pieces. Last season they scored the most goals in the EFL from set-pieces (30) and they have netted a further 25 this year. Lincoln’s analysts and data scientists study clips and work with Skubala and goalkeeping coach David Preece to look at areas where they can exploit opponents’ weaknesses.
Lincoln have the lowest average possession in League One (42.2 per cent), but instead Skubala uses four metrics – which he admits are ‘not what you might find on Opta’ – to measure progress. He is reluctant to share but admits Field Tilt – the ratio of each team’s final third touches compared to the total final third touches – is one.
‘Football is an invasion game,’ he explains. ‘If you play most of it in their half, you’re probably going to win whether you have the ball or not. The way we play is exciting and fans want to watch it.’
‘If you’re coming up against bigger boys and girls in the playground, you change the game until you find a game that you can win,’ Scully adds. ‘If you have limited resources, let’s not spread them thin across everything, let’s pick areas we can excel in to give us the biggest gains.’
Skubala – who has won three manager of the month awards this season – exudes a sense of calm leadership and is honest, welcoming, and open throughout our conversation. He has helped Lincoln navigate the pressure of promotion with unwavering composure. In fact, ahead of their recent top of the table clash at Cardiff, the 43-year-old told his squad that the game was a free hit, believing instead that their following match at Exeter was more important.
That came from a viewpoint, inspired by Sir Alex Ferguson’s former No 2 Mike Phelan, that as long as his side took care of business against teams below the top six, they would be in a good position to achieve their goals. Lincoln went on to beat the Welsh side 2-0 before winning 1-0 at Exeter across a superb few days.
Skubala has won three manager of the month awards this season amid the club’s superb form
The Imps are thriving right now under Skubala, and the club is united on and off the pitch
Lincoln’s Elite Performance Centre is an impressive facility and helps to attract players
The work of Skubala, whom Scully describes as a ‘professor of his art’, has been backed up by chief growth and innovation officer Jason Futers.
‘It’s like a competitive advantage for the club,’ Futers says of his position. ‘When I came in, the club had an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to try new things. That’s only grown and it is exciting to explore opportunities on and off the pitch.’
Futers’ work is about finding ways to benefit the club and he holds a unique role in the world of football. Lincoln’s Innovation Lab is a hub for creativity, efficiency and collaboration, while a new Accelerator Programme in partnership with the University of Lincoln will support both business ideas and club development.
The Imps consistently score well on fan engagement metrics but above all there is a desire to make sure Futers’ work maintains the club’s core values and keeps the community at heart.
This includes the clothing tag of Lincoln’s third-kit containing seeds from the common dog-violet, the county flower of Lincolnshire, while the club have also worked with a company that produces plant-based energy gels and are exploring ways to adjust dressing-room lighting to enhance performance.
For all the progress, Skubala and Scully are adamant nothing has been achieved, and humility remains central.
‘There’s no better feeling than when you see young fans with Lincoln shirts around the city,’ adds Skubala, who encourages his squad to connect with supporters. ‘When I came in, I felt there was a little bit of disconnection between players, management and fans. The fans have been brilliant throughout my time, and we’ve created a proper cauldron.’
That bond, strengthened by transparency from the club’s leadership, is key to Lincoln’s long-term ambitions.
‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change Lincoln City’s place in the pyramid,’ Scully says. ‘We know we’ll have some less good years, but we want to ensure we continue to punch above our weight.’
The excitement keeps growing too, with American businessman Ron Fowler taking a controlling stake in the club earlier this year, while there are also stadium improvements in the pipeline. There are hopes to grow Lincoln’s fanbase in the US, where they can count on Landon Donovan as a strategic adviser.
Lincoln can count on former US international Landon Donovan (left, pictured next to Scully) as a strategic adviser
The work of Skubala and Scully has been backed up by chief growth and innovation officer Jason Futers
Skubala has done an incredible job but humility remains central and he is adamant nothing has been achieved yet
Promotion could come as early as Good Friday against AFC Wimbledon if results go Lincoln’s way and it may just turbocharge the club’s trajectory.
Yet Skubala remains measured about the opportunity to return Lincoln to the second tier for the first time in 65 years, with a statement that sums up the long-term outlook of those at the club.
‘That history shouldn’t overburden people and create pressure – it should be exciting,’ he concludes. ‘Before I came in, the club had a strategy to get to the Championship and even if we don’t manage to do it, we’ll keep going towards that strategy.
‘We’re not a one-year club, we build all the time. It would be a great achievement but once you’ve achieved that, the hard work starts about what’s next. Football never ends – it’s a relentless industry.’
