Lincoln City became the first team to be promoted in 2025/26, with a 2-1 victory at Reading this weekend.
Of course, they’d have been promoted with a draw, or even a defeat, as Reading and Stockport shared four goals in Lancashire, meaning the Imps returned to the second tier for the first time since 1961, and were promoted to that level for the first time ever under a four-division system.
34-year-old defender Sonny Bradley has been a significant part of their success, replacing Paudie O’Connor in the summer. Irony served up a slice of something for Imps fans, as O’Connor walked dejectedly to the changing room on Monday, with Bradley celebrating the fourth promotion of his career.
When he replaced O’Connor, the latter was leaving for a real shot at the Championship, but Bradley admitted on the Select Car Leasing Stadium turf after the game that he went to Lincoln for the same reason.
“I came to this club in the summer with one ambition, and that was to get promoted,” he told BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Hope and Glory podcast.
The Hull-born centre back also claimed he couldn’t believe Skubala’s side, largely unchanged from their mid-table finish in 2024/25, hadn’t been higher up the table before his arrival.
“I said it pretty early on in every interview that I was in. Within three or four weeks I’d been at this club, I could not believe that this team finished 11th last season.
“I just think we’ve got maybe some younger lads who probably didn’t believe how good they were, and I think over the past 18 months, myself, Tendayi (Darikwa), James Collins, maybe Adam Reach, we’ve come in and sort of shown them a little bit how it’s done, and we’ve stayed consistent in our behaviours.”
Staying consistent in their behaviours will be important. The Imps have operated on the seventh-lowest budget in League One this season, but have outperformed the likes of Luton Town, that have four times the wage bill.
The Imps are 24 games unbeaten, smashing a club record by five matches (and counting) and sit 12 points clear of Cardiff City, although the Bluebirds do have a game in hand. Should the Imps win the title, they’ll be the first side to climb from the National League to the Championship by winning the title in each of those divisions, edging Burton, who won the National League, League Two, but finished second in League One to earn promotion.
