Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian insisted David Holdsworth was the stand-out candidate for the job after officially unveiling him as the clubs new manager until the end of the season.

Dorrian revealed how the former Mansfield Town boss was one of four candidates to be interviewed for the post but the Imps chief admitted his enthusiasm and knowledge of the game swayed the board’s decision.

He told The Linc: “We came up with four names on our shortlist and spoke to all four informally on the telephone.

“We interviewed the four and David came across as the stand-out candidate; his enthusiasm, knowledge of the game and his contacts were all factors that went in his favour.”

Holdsworth replaces Steve Tilson who was sacked on October 10 and will take charge of his first game when Lincoln travel to Alfreton Town on Saturday in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round.

And Dorrian stressed Holdsworth’s urgency to start work straight away and meet his new players was very pleasing.

“I rang David on Monday morning and said do you want to come in on Tuesday and he said no I want to be there this afternoon.

“That was great, it was very refreshing so we made arrangements for him to come in and it just shows how keen he was to get moving on the job,” he added.

At former club Mansfield Town, Holdsworth stabilised the Stags after their relegation from the Football League in 2008 during his two years at Field Mill.

He left Town by mutual consent in November 2010 with the club firmly established in mid-table and Dorrian hopes he can make a similar impact at Sincil Bank.

Dorrian said: “At Mansfield they were languishing at the bottom when he took over so he obviously knows how to galvanise teams in this division. We are very hopeful he can do a similar job for us at Lincoln.”