It’s something of a full circle moment for Dave Frecklington and Lincoln United tonight as he begins his first season in permanent charge of the Whites with a trip to Hallam FC.
That comes after the Englishman started his second stint in interim charge with a trip to the oldest football ground in the world on New Years Day.
From there, things have only been looking up for United as they climbed out of the NPL East Division relegation battle, and will be hoping that they carry on heading in the same direction this term.
Their form under Frecklington last season saw them earn 1.68 points per game, which would have been enough for the side to finish in sixth place had they have reached those levels for the full season.
Instead, it meant they climbed to a 14th place finish as the Whites hope to match that form for the entire campaign heading into the 2026/27 season.
That has already got off to a great start, as they got the better of newly promoted NPL East Division side Grantham Town last time out, in the Extra-Preliminary round of the FA Cup.
Which now means that they will welcome Wellingborough Town in the next round of football’s Oldest Cup Competition, with the tie taking place on Saturday, August 22.
But in the meantime, the Whites will be hoping to have made a strong start to what is looking to be a promising season and also maintain their unbeaten home start at home start to 2026.
Frecklington’s side have certainly given themselves the platform to do that, with 12 new signings coming through the door at the Sun-Hat Villa’s and Resorts Stadium.
They contributed to a pre-season that started strongly for the Whites with two wins from their first two friendlies.
Although in the middle of those, they were unfortunately eliminated from the Lincolnshire FA Senior County Cup after a 4-0 loss to Gainsborough Trinity in the Preliminary Round.
United also couldn’t quite maintain their friendly form either, as they were beaten in two of their final three outings against fellow step four sides Carlton Town and Boston Town.
Before they then recovered to claim a draw away from home in their final friendly, once again in a clash against Boston.
That fixture repeat came as their original friendly on that second date against Grantham Town was cancelled due to the two sides facing off against each other in the FA Cup just a week later.
And it was certainly the Whites who benefitted most from that, as a Sam Swinn brace gave the fans the reward for their confidence heading into the new campaign as they ran out 2-0 winners.
Therefore, following the remarkable turnaround in form after the new man at the helm took over last term, why can’t Lincoln United make a push for the play-offs this time around?
Despite it being just their second season back at step four, Frecklington has recruited a younger more local side for the campaign ahead as he looks to mould them and get them playing the way he wants.
Especially when you mix that in with the experience of Elliot Dye, Lewis Marsh and Tom Ward; the club seem to have replaced some of their big losses well this summer.
Speaking on their recruitment, the new manager said: “I’m really excited about this group, our recruitment has been exactly what we want it to be.
“We’ve recruited a different type of profile this season, they’re a really fit, hungry and energetic group and a lot more local based which was important.”