Four Key Periods That Have Led Lincoln City To The Cusp Of Promotion

Manic March

Finally, March. Cardiff City away always looked tough. I remember writing it on my planner, then writing Stockport County, then Huddersfield Town. When Exeter dropped in the middle, it looked like four matches that would be tough to get through. Still, seven or eight points would look really good, and I capped Blackpool in that, but probably shouldn’t have done.

Four games, and maybe six points? That was my hope. Three promotion contenders, and an Exeter side who, under Gary Caldwell, had been tough to beat. With a new manager, one loved in Devon for his previous exploits, they would be tough to plan for.

League One table after close of play on 06 March 2026

Cardiff was the big one, a huge crowd, but a feeling that this was our time. In front of the Sky cameras, we did what we do, a relentless work ethic off the ball backed up by a clinical edge when we pressed forward. Cardiff never looked like winning, and March was off to a manic start.

Exeter City was a grind, and doubtless this was an expensive weekend for the club, but they stayed down in Bristol and minimised travel impact. We still looked a little weary, but got over the line against the Grecians, the win meaning a lot with the melee at the end. Next up, Stockport County.

As at Christmas, this wasn’t easy. Stockport are one of the better sides in the hunt for a top-six spot, and despite our early lead, we knew we were in a fight. It took a late double salvo from us, but their bench knew as those minutes died down, we were coming on strong. Once again, players off the bench had an impact.

Days later the punishing schedule took us away again, the McAlpine (or whatever it is now), a ground usually laden with agony for us. Emley in the cup, Pawel Abbot’s offside, Andy Booth’s dive, it is a place where dreams are crushed. When Huddersfield Town’s bench saw eight minutes go up at 2-1, they knew it was their dreams in danger of being crushed. Another sub, another late goal and another point to really cement our place at the top. At one point, it felt like a dodgy evening for us, but as Bolton drew and Cardiff City lost, it turned quickly into the end of a manic 15 days that shifted the promotion race firmly in our favour.

League One table after close of play on 17 March 2026

When you look at those tables, it’s outrageous how well we have done, how we have surged ahead, by being relentless every week, and of course, there will be some matches I haven’t mentioned (I’d love to have got Stevenage at home in there). For me, these were the four key periods which turned Lincoln City from ‘maybe a top ten side with a bit of luck’ to the best team in the division, an opinion echoed up and down the land.

Will Easter weekend make it a fab five crucial periods?