Lincoln City are still feeling the benefit of Danny Cowley's greatest Imps achievement | OneFootball

Danny Cowley’s tenure at Sincil Bank is still thought of very highly, and there is no surprise given that his great achievement still benefits Lincoln

Danny Cowley’s tenure at Sincil Bank is still thought of very highly and there is no surprise given that his great achievement still benefits Lincoln City today.

After promotion back into the EFL with a thumping National League campaign and simultaneous FA Cup heroics, Cowley took Lincoln even further.

Lincoln claimed the EFL Trophy in their first season back in the 92, with Elliott Woodhouse scoring the only goal in a Wembley Stadium final win over Shrewsbury Town to seal the Imps’ first piece of cup silverware.

At the end of the following campaign, Cowley had managed to surpass the other great achievements he notched at the LNER Stadium and led City to promotion back into the third tier.

After the title-winning National League season two years prior, Lincoln sealed the League Two title by six points. They ended the term nine points clear of the play-off places and secured automation promotion in style.

While the EFL Trophy success was a highlight for Cowley, much like the FA Cup glory of historically reaching the quarter-finals as a non-league club and the National League title win, being crowned League Two champions stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Danny Cowley is remembered fondly at Lincoln City

Danny Cowley and his brother Nicky are remembered in the fondest way by Lincoln supporters for the results, trophies, promotions, and culture that they brought to Sincil Bank.

Their promotion into League One paved the way for the Imps to become a solid third-tier side. They have been under no threat of relegation over recent years and, instead, have been looking up.

They went painstakingly close to promotion into the Championship with a heartbreaking play-off final defeat under Michael Appleton and knocked on the door of the top six last season. Only defeat on the final day to the already-crowned champions Portsmouth stopped Lincoln reaching the end-of-season lottery in 2023/24.

If anything, the current disgruntlement over not being challengers for the top six speaks to the Imps’ success, the groundwork for which Cowley laid. The Imps have slumped to mid-table after a bad streak of performances and results, with a chunk of the supporters not happy that the club are not challenging for the play-off places.

When Cowley led his side to the League Two title in 2019, it would have been perhaps unthinkable that just over half a decade later there would be anger and concern over Lincoln not pushing for the play-offs in a division packed full of big-spending teams and former Premier League names.

Cowley will go down in history as one of the great Lincoln managers, leading City back to the third tier after 20 years away and adding two league titles in three years to the Sincil Bank trophy cabinet.