The Swans play their final game this coming Saturday before an extended International break. Lincoln City’s return to the Championship has begun with enough encouragement to suggest the newly promoted Imps will not be overwhelmed by the step up.

We spoke about Burnley being a proper fans club leading up to last weekend, and yes there’s been a surge in the Imps support of course, but this is a properly established club with a proper fanbase. An established old school football league club formed in 1884. No aires or graces the Swans are visiting a real historic home in professional English football terms. They have been at Sincil Bank since 1895.

They reached the second tier for the first time since 1961 after winning last season’s League One title with an impressive 103 points. However, promotion was followed by the departure of head coach Michael Skubala to Bristol City. Lincoln responded by promoting assistants Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw as joint head coaches. It was an unusual appointment on the surface, but one designed to preserve the identity and working methods established during the promotion campaign. You cannot question it to date.

Both men were already heavily involved in training, tactical preparation and developing Lincoln’s playing model. Their promotion therefore provided continuity during what could otherwise have been a disruptive summer. The Imps have had a competitive beginning, collecting eight points from their opening six Championship matches: Those two wins were gained against sides who are expected to be in the lower half this season. And they are then important results, beating teams expected to be around them.

Some will note that the Imps have only played six games to date and have a game in hand. Win that and they go above Birmingham City and Southampton. Unfortunately, and this is a big test their next game is tomorrow evening away at Bristol City. Even if the Robins win that they can’t leapfrog the Swans.

As stated the Imps record stands at two victories, two draws and two defeats, with five goals scored and six conceded. After losing their opening two league games, Lincoln have responded by going four Championship matches unbeaten. That sequence has included three clean sheets and away victories at Bolton and Preston. This displays a team getting to grips with the Championship early on.

Freddie Draper scored the decisive goal at Deepdale, coming from the bench to head home during the closing stages. It was a disciplined performance from Lincoln, who accepted that Preston would enjoy periods of possession but remained in the contest long enough to take their opportunity. Preston sacked their manager Paul Heckingbottom after this result. One win in seven and in the relegation places ensured his dismissal. Lincoln’s League Cup campaign also produced two notable away victories. Lincoln defeated Derby County 2-1 and Blackpool 4-1 before being eliminated through a 4-0 defeat at Premier League Bournemouth.

The Imps had a carefully constructed summer, identifying players who they believed would assist this campaign and moving on those who in most cases would not. Lincoln added ten players during the summer window, consisting of four permanent signings and six loans. Their permanent recruitment brought greater experience and physical presence to the squad. Callum Elder arrived on a free transfer from Derby, while Romanian international centre-back Andrei Coubiș was signed from Universitatea Cluj. Daniel Oyegoke joined from Hellas Verona and Danish striker Mikkel Ladefoged arrived from Västerås SK.

The fees paid for Coubiș, Oyegoke and Ladefoged were officially undisclosed. Ladefoged’s transfer has been widely described as a club-record deal, but the reported financial figures have not been confirmed by Lincoln. Their loan recruitment included goalkeeper Joe Gauci, forwards Mason Melia, Tanto Olaofe and Ethan Wheatley, midfielder Yunus Konak and Republic of Ireland winger Chiedozie Ogbene. Ogbene’s agreement with Ipswich Town runs until January, while the other five loans are intended to cover the complete season.

The most significant departure was Jack Moylan, who joined Cardiff City for an undisclosed fee. Moylan contributed 11 league goals and seven assists during the promotion campaign, leaving Lincoln with an important source of creativity and goals to replace. The overall recruitment strategy has been clear. Lincoln have attempted to preserve the core of their title-winning team while adding height, pace, athleticism and players capable of coping with Championship football.

For us, and it is only an opinion there are theee stand out danger men.

⚽️ Freddie Draper
Draper is a powerful academy-produced centre-forward who gives Lincoln a natural focal point. The 22-year-old competes strongly in the air, occupies central defenders and provides a target when Lincoln play directly. He scored seven League One goals during the promotion season and opened his Championship account with the late winner at Preston. Swansea will need to prevent Lincoln from delivering uncontested crosses towards him and must also be alert to the second balls created by his aerial challenges.

⚽️ Reeco Hackett
Hackett finished last season as Lincoln’s joint-leading league scorer alongside Moylan, with 11 goals. He can operate from a wide position or closer to the centre-forward and offers powerful, direct running. His ability to carry the ball forward gives Lincoln an important outlet when they regain possession and look to counterattack. Hackett has already scored in the Championship this season and remains one of the players most capable of turning a tight game through an individual contribution.

⚽️ Mikkel Ladefoged
Is being eased in gently is our information, didn’t play on Saturday but was on the bench. Two appearances and one goal to date. Ladefoged represents Lincoln’s major permanent attacking investment of the summer. The 23-year-old signed a five-year contract after arriving from Swedish football and scored his first Lincoln goal in the 1-1 draw with Southampton. Standing at around 6ft 4in, Ladefoged describes himself as a target man who can also run behind defenders and contribute with the ball at his feet. His combination of size and mobility offers Lincoln an alternative to Draper and gives Cohen and Shaw the option of placing considerable physical pressure on opposing centre-backs.

Tendayi Darikwa Is out with an ACL, Mason Melia has a thigh injury. We hear that Deji Elerewe, Andrei Coubis and Josh Honohan are up for selection. That’s the latest we have.

This season the Imps have regularly operated with three central defenders and wing-backs. They are prepared to concede possession, remain compact and protect their penalty area before playing directly into the forwards. This is where Swansea head coach, Vitor Matos has to put more emphasis on his mid and up top press. If he goes with the ever improving Elijah Just he needs to instil a mindset of a higher press when Adam Idah causes panic as he did on Saturday against Burnley.

Set pieces, long throws and crosses are important features of the Imps attacking game. Their forwards work extremely hard, while players such as Hackett and Ogbene give them the pace to break when opponents commit numbers forward. Five goals from six Championship games shows they have not been prolific. However, three clean sheets demonstrate that their defensive organisation is already providing a competitive platform. This is a game for Ben Cabango, he had a very good game last time out and he can sniff out aerial dominance from these set piece situations.

The challenge for Swansea will be to move Lincoln’s defensive structure without becoming impatient. Careless turnovers or unnecessary fouls could allow the home side to turn the contest into the physical, territorial game they are comfortable playing. Lincoln may be newcomers to the Championship, but consecutive league away victories at Bolton and Preston prove they should not be underestimated. They are organised, committed and beginning to demonstrate that they possess the qualities required to compete at this level.

A complete away allocation sell out was achieved late last week in what will be an exciting fixture for both sets of fans. The Swans will be predicted as favourites, however we keep our feet firmly on the ground for this one.

More on this game as the week progresses.

SWANSEA INDEPENDENT STATEMENT
Why do we put the disclaimer below on our reports ? ⬇️ The mainstream media and other alleged informed outlets persistently repeat information that in no way they can have sourced from anywhere but on these pages. Some now even charge via a paywall to read information taken from this website. It’s impossible for this information to have been taken from anywhere but here. We have been compiling this for a year now without making comment. And we have sources who will in any forum swear to our authenticity. When we contact these arrogant plagiarists they never reply. They are cowards and the most despicable elements that exist in Wales sports reporting and nationally in the UK. Depriving this website and its charity of links so we can support the brain tumour charity. In the summer of 2025 the national press agreed that - “The Swansea Independent website consistently maintained from the outset that the club (Swansea City) held no interest in signing Ethan Erhahon, identifying the transfer rumours as an aggressive push by the player's agent and the club to generate a bidding war. Their early reporting accurately stated that the midfielder would not be moving to south Wales, leaving other sides to compete for his signature”

It is odd that both Football League Review and Wales On Line repeated our exclusives on Erahon. (One example of many) Football League Review admitted they had lifted our reports and used them as their own, Wales On Line ? They reproduced our reports around that time in 44 cases after this website had reported them. Yes, well you can guess their response, apart from nothing, or straight forward denials, even when their plagiarism was proven beyond any doubt. This isn’t over by a long way. The passage of time since the denials of 2025 and subsequently now in 2026 after our one year of silence are beyond any reasonable doubt - let alone the court process of the balance of probability (Preponderance of the evidence) which we hope now to test.

Photograph : TNTclick Media, artwork Xolin