Lincoln City backed to keep hold of Michael Skubala amid Huddersfield Town interest - "they’re not stable" | OneFootball

FLW's Lincoln City Fan Pundit believes that Michael Skubala should turn down a potential move to Huddersfield Town.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

There is mid-season drama at the top end of League One, with Huddersfield Town taking the decision to eventually part company with Lee Grant, after a couple of months in which it had appeared that the West Yorkshire outfit had turned a corner.

However, a 3-1 loss at the Pirelli Stadium against Burton Albion — a week after a last gasp defeat to promotion rivals Stockport County at Edgeley Park — was the final straw for the Terriers hierarchy.

As a result, big-spending Town are now seeking an appointment of a manager with a view to propelling them to the top two and the automatic promotion spots, currently occupied by Cardiff City and, interestingly enough, Lincoln City.

The reason that is interesting is because Imps boss Michael Skubala, who has done a brilliant job at Sincil Bank, has emerged as a leading contender, as exclusively revealed by Football League World.

Pragmatic Michael Skubala urged to stay at stable Lincoln City as Huddersfield Town swipe taken

Lincoln City have massively overperformed again this season, but it is almost the culmination of years of diligent work off the pitch, as well as the coaching credentials of Michael Skubala.

Their 2-2 draw at Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon against top-six-chasing Luton Town has left them sitting three points ahead of third-place Bradford City in the third tier.

FLW’s Lincoln fan pundit, Gary Hutchinson of The Stacey West website, believes that Skubala will come to the decision to stay at Lincoln as a result of the stability of the club, especially in comparison to big spending Town.

Gary told FLW: “I'm not sure that he would be tempted or laugh it off.

“Michael Skubala is a pretty practical man, and it’s part and parcel of football that speculation arrives. He’s doing well, so if anything, people will just see this as a vindication of Lincoln City doing the right things.

“I think that the perception has to be around how the fans react, rather than Michael Skubala.

“I wouldn’t want to guess what Skubala would feel. I tried to do that with Danny Cowley and got that horribly wrong.

“The perception here that Huddersfield are a big club is correct, and they are a big club with a lot of money.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are a stable club, and their ownership gets through managers more often than I get through pairs of socks.

“Whereas at Lincoln City, Michael’s been able to build his team over a few years. We’ve just been backed by Ron Fowler. This doesn’t mean that we’re going to spend millions and millions, but I think that it secures our club’s future and our club’s stability.

“That’s really important. That’s why we’re second in the table, because we’re a well-run club from top to bottom working on an 18th-placed budget.

“That’s why Huddersfield aren’t, because they might be working on a top four or five budget, but they’re not stable, and they’re not well run, and they pull the trigger on managers.

“I suppose the other question that you’d have to ask is, in any other line of work, would you go from a stable, secure company, achieving a level of success to a bigger company that felt a little bit like a basket case?

"I’m not the man to answer that, but I think over the next few weeks, when Michael Skubala stays in place, you’ll see what the answer is.”

Michael Skubala has done an excellent job at Lincoln City — Huddersfield Town could be left disappointed

Nottingham-born Skubala didn’t become a professional footballer but instead went into coaching out of the gate while teaching PE in Leicestershire before eventually working his way up to becoming the head coach of Leeds United’s U21 side.

While at Elland Road, Skubala also stood in on an interim basis for the first-team in the Premier League and was always deemed to be a highly-rated operator.

He was appointed by Lincoln in November 2023 for what was and is his first managerial role, and he has turned the mid-table also-rans into genuine promotion contenders.

Backed again in the winter transfer window with the signing of Josh Honohan from League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers, there is excitement for the future of Lincoln with the involvement of Ron Fowler.

Huddersfield will have a job on their hands, persuading Skubala that giving up the opportunity to lead Lincoln to a surprise promotion in order to deal with the enormous expectations at the Accu Stadium is worthwhile, and they could be left disappointed if an approach is made.