Michael Skubala Closing in on Bristol City Job

Michael Skubala is closing in on the Bristol City job, and Lincoln City are bracing for impact.

According to Telegraph reporter John Percy, talks between Skubala and the Robins are ongoing, with a three-year deal understood to be close. If signed off, it would end one of the most impressive modern reigns at Sincil Bank and send the Imps back into the market for a new head coach.

From distant noise to serious threat

For a while, this story felt like background chatter. Bristol City’s initial approach never truly registered as a major danger, not least among those around Lincoln who believed Skubala was settled and building something substantial.

Then the picture changed.

The arrival of his close friend James Ellis as sporting director at Ashton Gate altered the mood entirely. Suddenly, Skubala wasn’t just on a long list; he was a live candidate, with a direct line into the new structure in Bristol and a clear understanding of the project.

Even then, his path to the Championship seemed to close as quickly as it had opened. Bristol City moved for their first-choice target, Tommy Elphick, last week. That appointment looked done. Some outlets even suggested Skubala was on the verge of signing a new deal with Lincoln, a neat resolution for a fanbase that had spent days refreshing news feeds.

Then came the twist.

Elphick, it was reported, turned the job down, opting to remain at Bournemouth under their new manager. The Robins, suddenly without their preferred option, had to regroup. They turned straight back to Skubala.

The pressure finally told. Talks accelerated. Now, with a three-year agreement believed to be close, it would be a surprise to see Skubala in the Lincoln dugout by the time pre-season friendlies come around.

Leaving at the top of his game

If this is the end, Skubala walks away with numbers that will stand up in any era. He departs with the second-best win percentage in Lincoln’s history and a strong argument that he has just overseen the club’s finest campaign.

He has not simply coached a good team; he has helped shape a modern structure. Lincoln’s current model is collaborative, built less around one dominant personality and more around a collective of voices and specialists. That makes his potential exit both painful and manageable. There is a gap, but it is not a void.

What next for the Imps?

Lincoln have not stumbled into this moment. There is a succession plan for every manager – that is how the club now operates. Whether it is a shortlist of external candidates or a clear internal front-runner, the groundwork has already been done.

The expectation is that the appointment will come quickly. That should not be mistaken for panic. It is preparation.

Inside the club, the most natural solution may already be in the building. Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen are well-placed to step up, should Lincoln choose continuity over a headline name. They know the squad, understand the processes, and have worked inside a system designed to outlast any one head coach.

The logic is simple: shift everyone up a rung and reinforce beneath, rather than rip up a structure that has underpinned the club’s recent progress.

The Brentford blueprint

Brentford remain the clearest example of this kind of thinking.

Dean Smith lifted the club to a new level. When he moved on, Brentford did not raid the managerial market for a big reputation; they promoted Thomas Frank from within. Frank then took them into the Premier League. When he departed, the club turned again to continuity, elevating set-piece coach Keith Andrews to head coach.

The result? A team that has finished in the top ten of the Premier League in three of the last four seasons, all while ignoring the managerial merry-go-round and the noise that comes with it. No desperate scramble. No “get Wanrock in” style social media fantasies. Just a calm, deliberate handover, manager to manager, inside a stable framework.

That is the kind of transition Lincoln can aspire to now. A head coach stepping into a role they already understand, surrounded by familiar faces, operating in a culture they helped create.

For the Imps, the Championship era already promised a new chapter on the pitch. Now, it may also mark the beginning of a new chapter in the dugout. The only question left is whether they follow the path they’ve been building towards – or let this moment pull them somewhere else.