Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala 'under no illusion how hard it will be'

Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala has said his team are looking to secure a play-off spot next season, but knows how difficult it will be. SkyBet League One is shaping up to be a competitive league next term, with former Premier League sides Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City getting relegated into the third tier, and Hollywood-backed Wrexham among the promoted sides.

The Imps head coach said: “We can’t lie, we want to look up, not down. We want to look at that play-off spot and try to go one more. But, we are under no illusion how hard it is going to be.

"The first target is to try and replicate what we do, that has to be our first target. The run we went on isn’t easy, not many clubs did that up and down the country.”

Lincoln finished just one win away from finishing in the play-off places at the end of last campaign, losing to champions Portsmouth on the final day.

Skubala said: “It looks a hard league, and there’s no doubt that there’s some big clubs coming up, and some big clubs coming down, and Reading and Wigan haven’t got their point deductions. But, I think we showed that on our day we are a match for any of those teams, and when you go 11 v 11 on the green stuff, between two goals, why not?”

The Imps went on a remarkable 16-game unbeaten run towards the end of last season, pulling them within reach of the top-six. However, the great run ended in heartache that Skubala believes his team can benefit from next season. He said: “If we take it in the right way and we learn from it, we improve.

"We are going to have to improve. But, I think what it shows you is that if we do things right, and you are competitive, and you can score, and you can be aggressive, and how we want to be, then we can go and beat teams.”

The EFL fixtures were released on Wednesday, June 26, the same day that Lincoln celebrated their 140th anniversary and opened their new Co-op Community Hub.

City start the season with a trip to Burton Albion, before Barnsley and Mansfield Town visit the LNER Stadium. Club captain Paudie O’Connor said: “It’s quite good, all three of them are pretty local.

"That’s probably the first time I’ve had that, where you are not doing big overnight trips, up and down the country, so early on. The two home games, they are two teams that bring big away followings.

"It should create good atmospheres, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there at the LNER.” The Irishman said he was optimistic ahead of the upcoming season, coming off the back of a fine run of form since the turn of the year.

He said: “You can only go off the end to last season, the atmosphere around the football club going into that Portsmouth game was one of the best I’ve experienced. If we can get back to those levels early in the season, and get that feel-good factor back straight away, that can only be a good place to play football.”

One of the club’s newest signings is a familiar face, as midfielder Conor McGrandles joined the club for a third time. The former Charlton Athletic man said: “We are very confident. We had a good end to last season, so hopefully we can continue that momentum into this season.

"I’m looking forward to getting back in, and getting pre-season done.” Lincoln City’s pre-season training gets under way on Friday, June 28, before attention turns to the curtain raiser on August 10.