Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala has emerged as one of the leading candidates to fill the vacant managerial position at Bristol City.
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho is also in the frame to take over from Roy Hodgson, according to Pete O’Rourke.
The Robins are looking for a new gaffer after the former England manager spent the final months of the campaign in temporary charge at Ashton Gate.
No current side have spent more consecutive campaigns in the Championship than Bristol City, joining Preston North End in preparing for their 11th season as a second-tier outfit.
Yesterday, I said the silly season of transfers is well underway, and strap yourselves in, because this is just the start! Fortunately, there aren’t an abundance of managerial positions to be filled, so hopefully these sorts of rumours will subside pretty quickly. Nevertheless, it’s news involving the Imps, so it’s only right for us to address it.
This doesn’t follow O’Rourke’s ‘rule of three’, but it does feel an easy link looking at the betting markets. BetVictor currently have the two above-mentioned managers as the shortest odds to take over at Ashton Gate next season. Regardless, it would be no surprise to see the Robins looking at Skubala, given the success we have had this year.
It’s one thing to look at him, but another to take him away from Sincil Bank. Skubala has another two years remaining on his current deal, which was signed in 2024, meaning it would take a substantial compensation package for Bristol City to poach the Imps gaffer. Earlier today, Skubala won his fourth Manager of the Month award this season, and is undoubtedly a manager on the up. He won’t be at Lincoln forever, but I don’t see him leaving the Imps just after achieving promotion.
I think the absence of a playing career is actually a benefit to us. Looking at his coaching career to date, I believe he will choose his next club wisely and won’t jump at the first opportunity to manage elsewhere, as other coaches may do. Our own model means that losing the head coach isn’t catastrophic for our long-term ambitions, but we shouldn’t need to worry about that happening in the immediate future.
Is There Any Truth In The Portsmouth Link?
Let’s talk about John Mousinho. Strangely, I see him as more likely to be in the hot seat at Ashton Gate next year than Skubala. Like the Imps head coach, Mousinho has over-achieved on a much smaller budget than his fellow Championship counterparts.
The highly-rated manager aimed to succeed where others hadn’t, including former Imps gaffer Danny Cowley, in taking Portsmouth back to the Championship. Appointed in January 2023, he led Pompey to a strong end to the season, and that was a sign of things to come. In his first full campaign in charge, he led the South Coast outfit to the League One title.
Despite a winless start to the following campaign, the 40-year-old signed a new deal at Fratton Park. But Portsmouth were rewarded with that belief in their manager as they confirmed second-tier survival with games to spare. Mousinho was the only manager from 18 Championship clubs to remain in charge of a side who were in the division the year prior. And that stability allowed Pompey to secure another year of Championship football.
I think the acceptance on the South Coast is that he will, at some point, leave for bigger and better things. However, the Pompey gaffer addressed rumours linking him with the job at Bristol City last month when speaking to BBC Radio Solent.
“I’m not currently in a situation where I’m desperate to leave the football club, and I stick by what I said on Saturday – I love the club and love the support I’ve had from day one.
“I don’t want it thrown back in my face that I said ‘No, I’m staying here forever’. I think that’s a lot more disrespectful for fans than the other way.
“But I’m fully focused on Portsmouth, the talks over the next couple of days and the game on Saturday. This is the football club that gave me my chance, and I’ve had a really good time here, so I just try to keep it as open and honest as possible.”
For the record, I don’t expect either manager to be the new Bristol City manager. But these are two men whose stock will only continue to rise and will inevitably be linked with other clubs in the near future.
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