After 65 years away from the second tier of English football, Lincoln City have sealed promotion to the Championship, confirmed by a 2-1 victory over Reading on April 6th, with five games still to play. A point would have done it, but the Imps took all three, and for anyone betting in the UK on League One’s destination this season, there was only ever going to be one winner.
Michael Skubala’s side have been so far ahead of the rest of League One for so long that the result almost felt inevitable, currently 12 points clear of Cardiff in second and 19 ahead of Bradford in third. A club that was playing non-league football less than a decade ago will now face the likes of Norwich, Stoke, Southampton, and whoever else the Championship throws at them next season.
How they did it
The foundation of Lincoln’s season has been consistency at both ends of the pitch. They have scored 77 goals, the highest tally in League One, and conceded just 35, the fewest in the division. Reeco Hackett has been the standout performer, leading the club’s scoring charts with nine goals and seven assists. Jack Moylan, fittingly the man who scored the promotion-clincher in stoppage time at Reading, has contributed eight goals from midfield. Rob Street has added another eight up front.
But goals alone do not tell the full story. Since their last defeat on November 22nd, Lincoln have not lost a single game. Of the 24 matches played in that run, they won 19 and drew five. That kind of sustained form in the third tier is almost unheard of, and it speaks to a squad that is well-drilled, mentally tough, and functioning at a level well above the division.
The manager behind the rise
Skubala arrived at Sincil Bank in November 2023 with the club in mid-table. His background is unconventional: FA coach, futsal specialist, and briefly interim manager at Leeds United before finding his footing in the EFL. What he has done in a relatively short space of time deserves recognition.
The LNER Stadium has been a fortress this season, with the Imps losing just once at home all campaign. That home record has been as crucial as anything else in building their points total.
Can they survive in the Championship?
This is where it gets harder to predict. The Championship is a different proposition entirely. Clubs with significantly larger budgets, experienced squads, and recent Premier League histories will all be competing in the same division next season. Lincoln’s budget has been one of the smallest in League One this year. It will almost certainly be one of the smallest in the Championship.
For anyone who uses an odds calculator, Lincoln will likely open the Championship season as favourites for the drop, just like most teams in their position. Survival will be a challenge. Newly promoted sides from League One often struggle with the step up in physical intensity and technical level, and Lincoln do not have the financial muscle to address every weakness in the summer window.
What they do have, though, is a manager who knows how to build a team on limited resources, a squad that has been tested through a long and demanding season, and an ownership group led by former San Diego Padres co-owner Ron Fowler that has backed a data-driven recruitment model. That model has already unearthed players like Ukrainian midfielder Ivan Varfolomeev from the lower reaches of European football.
Survival is not guaranteed, but Lincoln have already proved once this season that they belong at the top of whatever division they are in. Nobody will be taking them lightly next August.