Lincoln City travel to The Exercise Stadium tomorrow night as they face up to League Two side Harrogate Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
The Imps failed to follow up their winning start to the season on Saturday as they were beaten 2-0 by AFC Wimbledon following Adam Jackson’s first half red card.
Following that loss, City chairman Clive Nates has since announced a restructuring of the current board to simplify the way the club is governed to attract new investors.
The new structure will see a three-pronged board structure consisting of a strategy board taking over from the full board who were previously responsible for the overall running of the club.
Contrary to that, the new strategy board is now responsible for shaping the long-term plans for the club ensuring its sustainability and provide oversight on key decisions.
It will also be represented by Andrew and Ron Fowler who will act as the voice of supporters within the new structure.
Their work will be overseen by the refreshed board, who will focus on how strategies are implemented in the short term and how they operate to benefit the club.
Finally, the Club Patrons Group will consist of key investors and Club associates in order to consolidate and honour past agreements.
In an open letter to the fans Nates said: “These changes have been made exclusively in the best interest of Lincoln City football club as we continue in our search for ongoing investment.”
Despite that, focus remains on tomorrow’s Carabao Cup game as the Imps will be hoping to exact revenge on the Sulphurites after being eliminated by the North Yorkshire side at this stage last season.
Opponents: Harrogate Town
Town come into this one on a good run of form after they beat Bristol Rovers on the opening day.
However, their perfect start was ended when they conceded a 93rd minute equaliser to draw 3-3 with play-off chasing Grimsby Town on Saturday.
Simon Weaver welcomed nine new players to the club this summer, most notably bolstering their front line with former Derby County striker Mason Bennett.
Team News:
Lincoln City will be without defender Adam Jackson in this one following his straight red card on Saturday. The clash will be the first of his three-match suspension which sees him out of action until the side travel to Bolton at the end of August.
Alongside him, longer term absentees Dom Jeffries, Ben House and Lewis Montsma will also miss this one with respective injuries whilst Skubala mentioned Reeco Hackett was “still a bit stiff” after the game at the weekend.
Given the usual nature of the competition we could expect manager Michael Skubala to make a number of changes and possibly even try Zach Jeacock in goal.
Head-to-Head:
City will be hoping to right the wrongs of last season when Harrogate got the better of them at the same stage beating them 2-1 at the LNER Stadium.
That was the first time that the two sides had faced off against each other in a competitive fixture so City will be expected to level things up overall.
If the Imps were to progress it would be their first time in the second round since 2023 when they were eventually beaten by Premier League side West Ham United in the third round.