Only way is (via) Essex for Cowley

at Essex club Rangers in 2007.

For Cowley, the grit his side showed in winning at places such as Solihull Moors and North Ferriby, straight after FA Cup wins, was crucial.

He said: “They were the most important results of the season. They showed what we are all about, they showed the character in the team, and that is what won us the league. It would have been easy to be derailed by the cup run, but we weren’t.”

Cowley, who gave up his job as a PE teacher in Essex to go full-time as a manager Concord only a year ago, has no illusions about the task ahead.

“It will be a big jump,” he said. “I am hoping that our momentum from last year will keep going. If we can be in the top 12 by Christmas, then let’s see where we can go.”

On Lincoln’s fixture list are clubs such as Luton, Notts County, Swindon and Coventry, all of which have been in the top flight at some stage.

It is a long way from Concord playing in front of 50 people against Burnham Ramblers or Sawbridgeworth Town. Cowley said: “Back home in Essex, even my next door neighbour doesn’t know who I am. In Lincoln, everyone does. It’s crazy.

“Through the cup run last year I kept telling the lads to keep their feet on the ground. Then after we beat Burnley, the sponsors delivered this brand new Audi to me. It was there in the car park when we came back from training.

“The players all went, ‘Oh yeah, keep our feet on the ground?’ Mind you, they took it back when we got knocked out.”