Mark Bonner

My first pick is Mark Bonner, and it’s purely a personal thing on my part. I have so much respect for what he’s done at Cambridge, he’s turned them into a solid League One team, and they looked like sure-fire relegation fodder at the beginning of the season. I recall being told he’d attended one of our matches earlier in the season as well; I know it’s routine for managers to do that, but it did get me thinking at the time. The club talk about succession planning, and that would be an obvious conclusion to reach, rightly or wrongly.

There are elements here that don’t quite fit the remit; he’s a one-club man and there could be a bit of the Michael Flynn about him, great with his hometown but not so much elsewhere. Also, the reality is Cambridge and Lincoln are similar-sized clubs, so tempting him over wouldn’t be easy, and there would likely be a significant sum to pay as well, which I can’t see. I just think if you’re talking managers currently in a job, then he’s one it would be hard to ignore.