The Cowley’s make a return to Sincil Bank but with little room for sentiment as the Imps look to improve

Lincoln City welcome back arguably one of the greatest managers in their history as Danny Cowley returns with his Portsmouth side looking to make their way into the top six of League One.

Danny Cowley, assisted by his brother Nicky Cowley, return to Sincil Bank for the first time since departing for Huddersfield Town in September 2019. Masterminding Lincoln’s return from the fifth tier into League One is already written into local folklore. 

Leading the club to a memorable EFL Trophy win at Wembley in 2018, it was a magical FA Cup run that drew national attention upon the Imps in 2017.

Having beaten the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley along the way, Lincoln were knocked out by Premier League giants Arsenal at the quarter-final stages with the Gunners eventually going on to lift the trophy that season.

Looking ahead to his return to Lincoln, Cowley told Hampshire Live:

“It will be the first time I have been back. Lincoln City’s supporters are brilliant people.

“We would have never achieved what we did without their contribution in our success, it was massive.

“In that FA Cup run, I remember them queuing like 20 hours for tickets.

“They have brilliant people at the wheel and Michael Appleton has done a brilliant job off the back of us being there.”

The platform laid by the departing duo has meant that the club has moved on from those times and are becoming a different entity both on and off the pitch. Lincoln were only a game away from being promoted into the second tier for the first time in their history.

Having developed a less direct footballing philosophy, Appleton was quick to acknowledge the job that the Cowley’s had done during their time at the club.

“The job spec is very different now. It’s a change of model. I’ve come into the club to try and develop players, try and make money for the club and at the same time try and have a bit of success.

“I’m not stupid, I don’t ever see myself being held in the same regard as those two because of the early success they had.

“I’m cool, I’m relaxed about that. I’ve got to do my thing now. Hopefully, over a period of time, we can have the success we had with the likes of Jorge Grant and Tayo Edun and bring on more players.”

It’s currently not going Appleton’s way as Lincoln still can’t find the consistency to move further up the League One table. A goalless draw at Doncaster Rovers at the weekend will draw positives but the lack of goals is starting to become a concern amongst Imps fans who were treated to free-flowing football last season.

The Imps boss will once again be trying to navigate a host of injury concerns that have plagued this campaign so far. Lasse Sorensen, Anthony Scully, Dan N’Lundulu and Lewis Fiorini are all doubts for the fixture. Liam Bridcutt is expected not to be risked whilst Adam Jackson and Tom Hopper are still sidelined with long-term injuries.

Having left Lincoln for Huddersfield in 2018, Cowley secured their Championship status in the affected pandemic campaign but was relieved of his duties only partway through their rebuilding exercise.

Despite cutting a number of big earners from the side that had been relegated from the Premier League, Cowley installed pride back into the South Yorkshire club with players that wanted to wear the shirt. He now finds himself at Pompey with aspirations to restore the South Coast club’s fortunes.

After a mixed start to the season, the ship has been steadied at Fratton Park following heavy defeats against Rotherham and Ipswich that left them 17th place in League One.

They have responded in a fairly emphatic fashion having recorded their fourth successive win at the weekend with a 2-1 win over AFC Wimbledon. Cowley has been delighted with the response from his players but insists that there is still more to come.

“It takes a lot for the group to respond in the way we did after Ipswich. When I stood here, after that game, I don’t think anyone would have predicted seven matches unbeaten.

“We are coming together, definitely. I still feel we have lots to do technically, which tactically I still think we can go with more control, more rhythm, more fluency – but we fight and there’s a togetherness.”

Akin to an ex-partner returning to a family wedding, there is a degree of awkwardness to the Cowley’s homecoming tomorrow evening.  There is no doubt that the brothers will receive a warm reception but the opposite dugouts will be very much treating this as another game of football with an important three points at stake.

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